Presidential election in Brazil: Lula and Bolsonaro face each other in the second round

Approximately 159 million voters in the country went to the polls at 08:00 local time for the second round of elections to determine the president and governor of 6 states.

The polls will close at 17.00 local time.

The race between the ruling party's candidate, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the opposition candidate, right-winger Flavio Bolsonaro, is considered one of the most competitive presidential elections since the transition to democracy in the country in 1985.

Lula da Silva is running for the presidency for the 7th time after ruling the country for two terms in 2003-2010 and being re-elected as president in 2023.

Lula da Silva, who applied to the Federal Police, the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression on October 17, requested an investigation into whether his rival Bolsonaro gained economic and financial advantage in the production and distribution of content through Meta platforms.

According to the latest polls, Flavio Bolsonaro is expected to receive 51 percent of the votes and President Lula da Silva is expected to receive 49 percent. It is estimated that there will be a slight decrease in Bolsonaro's vote rate before the second round and the race between the two candidates will be neck-and-neck.

In the first round on October 4, right-wing candidate Bolsonaro received 47 percent of the votes and Lula da Silva 45.1 percent.