Polls close in Brazil's general election as Lula and Bolsonaro head for potential runoff

Polls have closed in Brazil's general election, after voters queued in long lines for a tight first round of the presidential race.

After casting his ballot, 80-year-old left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva warned that the choice was between democracy and "barbarism".

His challenger, right-winger Flávio Bolsonaro, 45, said he wanted to "free the Brazilian people".

The result is forecast to be close. BBC Brazil's poll aggregator shows that the gap between Lula and Bolsonaro is only two points. If no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, the election will go to a run-off on 25 October.

Just over 90% of votes have been counted so far, with no candidate claiming more than 50% at the time of writing.

Bolsonaro leads with 48.05%, while the incumbent Lula trails with 43.97%.

According to Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE), more than 158.7 million Brazilians, including one million people abroad, are eligible to vote in the election.

Lula is challenged by 11 candidates, although the vote count so far indicates that candidates other than Lula and Bolsonaro will get only about 10% of the vote.