Flavio Bolsonaro Leads in the First Round of the Brazilian Presidential Election, Second Round is Necessary

In the first round of the election, where 99.8 percent of the votes were counted, right-wing candidate Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, received 47 percent of the votes, while President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva received 45.1 percent.

In the election where there were approximately 159 million registered voters, Flavio Bolsonaro received 56.1 million votes and Lula da Silva received 53.8 million votes.

According to Brazilian law, in order to win the presidential election in the first round, it is necessary to receive more than 50 percent of the valid votes. If this rate is not reached, the two candidates with the most votes compete in the second round.

Since no candidate can exceed the 50 percent required to be elected, Flavio Bolsonaro and Lula da Silva, who is a candidate for the 7th time, will compete for the presidency in the second round to be held on October 25.

While 45-year-old Flavio Bolsonaro is expected to enter the second round as the favorite, the votes received by other right-wing candidates are expected to turn towards Bolsonaro in the second round.

In addition to the president, votes were also cast for the governor and lieutenant governor of 26 states and the Federal District, 513 members of the House of Representatives, 54 of 81 seats in the Senate, and members of state assemblies in Brazil.

Former President Jair Bolsonaro's sons Carlos Bolsonaro and Jair Renan Bolsonaro and his wife Michelle Bolsonaro also won important positions in the elections. Carlos and Michelle Bolsonaro were elected to the Senate, while Jair Renan Bolsonaro entered the House of Representatives.

First round result "unexpected", says Lula da Silva

80-year-old President Lula da Silva said in his statement that the result of the election was "unexpected" for him and that he thought he could win in the first round.

Stating that they will start a new campaign before the second round, Lula said, "I am good in the second round. We will see who has the best plan." he said.

45-year-old Flavio Bolsonaro, on the other hand, stated that the election results showed that the Brazilian people wanted change, and that the results indicated that the era was over for Lula's party.

While Lula is expected to draw attention to the legal problems faced by Bolsonaro as well as his social policies in his second round campaign, the high cost of living, the fight against crime and relations with the USA come to the fore in Bolsonaro's second round campaign.

The result of the election is also important for Brazil's foreign policy orientation.

If Flavio Bolsonaro wins, Brazil is expected to close its relations with the administration of US President Donald Trump, while if Lula is re-elected, the country is expected to maintain its distance policies from Washington and continue to improve its relations with China.

In his statement on social media, Trump criticized the election system in the USA over the election results in Brazil.

President Trump pointed out that the results in Brazil were announced on the same day, and argued that the elections in the USA took weeks, although they resulted in much fewer votes, and that "voting was corrupt" in the country.