Lula and Bolsonaro Face Off in Brazil's Presidential Runoff Election

Voting is underway in Brazil's presidential runoff election, pitting incumbent leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva against far-right Senator Flávio Bolsonaro.

Brazilian voters are taking to the polls for a hard-to-predict runoff election between left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and far-right Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, who finished ahead in the first round. With the vote margin between the candidates remaining under 2 percent in the first round, 80-year-old Lula focused his campaign on boosting turnout. Meanwhile, 45-year-old Bolsonaro is the eldest son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving house arrest and facing a 27-year prison sentence due to his attempts to overturn his 2022 defeat.

Casting his vote in Rio de Janeiro, Flávio Bolsonaro argued that the time for real change has arrived, while Lula, who began his political career half a century ago, cast his ballot in São Bernardo do Campo and highlighted the youth turnout support he witnessed throughout his campaign. Final polls published on Saturday showed Bolsonaro with a slight lead, while it was reported that a councilor from Lula's party was injured in an attack on an election convoy in Minas Gerais state. Results are expected to be announced late Sunday evening.