Brazil will go to the second round of presidential elections, as neither incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva nor Senator Flávio Bolsonaro managed to secure the necessary majority for victory in the first round.

According to the Brasília Electoral Court data, with 99.8 per cent of the votes counted, Flávio Bolsonaro led a little over 56 million votes, while Lula had about 53.7 million. The second confrontation will take place on October 25th, while the new president is expected to launch the mandate on January 5th.

Flávio Bolsonaro, 45, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro and ally of US President Donald Trump, described the outcome of the first round as a clear signal that the Brazilians require change, broadcast Telegrafi.

Brazil wants change. This is the interpretation of what happened today, he told reporters and supporters outside his home in Brasília. Bolsonaro also stated that the result marks, according to him, the end of the working party’s era, run by Lula.

Lula, on the other hand, acknowledged that the result was unexpected, having hoped to ensure victory in the first round. However, the 80-year-old president appeared determined for the second race.

The result was unexpected. Tomorrow we start a new campaign, Lula said, adding: I’m very good at the final round. We’ll see who has the best plan. )

Both candidates have about three weeks to convince voters who supported other candidates in the first round. Augusto Cury, who finished third with about 3.4 million votes, has declared he will not support any candidate. Even Ronaldo Caiado and Renan Santos, who together received about 5.3 million votes, have said earlier that they will not support any of them.

The runoff is expected to be particularly important for the direction of South America’s largest economy and for Brazil’s foreign policy. A Flávio Bolsonaro victory could strengthen ties with the United States, while a new Lula mandate is expected to continue Brasília’s approach policy with China and relative distance from Washington.

Lula will try to mobilise its supporters through social policies, while in front of it, concerns about the cost of living and a corruption scandal that has affected important figures of Brazilian politics and justice.

At the centre of this scandal is Supreme Court Judge Alexander de Morares, who earlier led investigations into former President Jair Bolsonaro and the process leading to his conviction for efforts to overturn the results of previous elections. Moraes is mentioned in investigations related to arrested banker Daniel Vororo and Master Banco, though the case remains subject to investigation.

The two candidates also face a polarised electorate. According to polls cited in the report, a considerable part of Brazilians have a negative attitude towards the Bolsonaro family, while another part opposes the Lula Workers’ Party.

The first round has given numeric advantage to Flávio Bolsonaro, but nothing has yet been decided. To win on October 25th, the two candidates will have to attract voters who supported other candidates, what they might force them to make political compromises or seek support from the eliminated rivals.

In the 2022 elections, Lula beat Jair Bolsonaro by about 2.1 million votes. Now, four years later, the former president’s son will seek to reverse the outcome of that race and restore the Bolsonaro family to the top of the country. /Telegraphy/