Polling stations opened in Brazil on Sunday for the most divisive presidential election in the country in years, with far-right lawmaker Jair Bolsonaro the clear favorite in the first round. About 147 million voters are eligible to cast ballots and choose who will rule the world’s eighth biggest economy. New federal and state legislatures will also be elected. / AFP PHOTO
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Far-right Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro led the count from a first round election Sunday with 48.4 percent of votes, electoral authorities said after counting ballots from two thirds of polling stations.
If the 63-year-old former paratrooper scores under 50 percent, he will go on to an October 28 run-off against his nearest rival from a field of 13, leftwing Workers Party candidate Fernando Haddad. Surveys suggest that round would be too close to call between the two.
© Agence France-Presse