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Brazil elections 2022: Lula in the lead with 96% of votes counted but run-off likely
![Brazil elections 2022: Lula in the lead with 96% of votes counted but run-off likely]()
It appears increasingly likely neither of the top two candidates will receive more than 50% of the valid votes, which exclude spoiled and blank ballots, which would mean a second round vote will be scheduled for Oct. 30. Brazil elections 2022: Lula in the lead with 96% of votes counted but run-off likely
It appears increasingly likely neither of the top two candidates will receive more than 50% of the valid votes, which exclude spoiled and blank ballots, which would mean a second round vote will be scheduled for Oct. 30.
Brazil's presidential election on Sunday appeared to be heading for an Oct. 30 run-off, as far-right President Jair Bolsonaro's strong initial showing seemed to have ended leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's hopes of a first-round victory.
With 96% of electronic voting machines counted, Lula was slightly ahead with 47,8% of votes versus 43,8% for Bolsonaro, the national electoral authority said on its website.
A second-round vote could add to fierce polarization and simmering political violence in Latin America's biggest country. A narrow first-round vote would also deliver a major boost to Bolsonaro, who was seen trailing Lula by 10-15 percentage points in most polls ahead of Sunday's vote.
Bolsonaro has questioned polls that showed losing to Lula in the first round, saying they did not capture support he saw on the campaign trail. He has also repeatedly cast unfounded doubts on the country's electronic voting system, prompting fears he may refuse to accept defeat and spark an institutional crisis.
