Bolsonaro faces off against former president Lula in Brazil elections

Sao Paulo, Oct 2 (EFE).- Brazilians were voting on Sunday in an election pitting incumbent right-wing Jair Bolsonaro against left-wing former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Latest opinion polls showed Lula maintaining a 14-point lead over Bolsonaro meaning he could win with up to 51% of the ballot.

Polling stations across the country opened their doors for some 156.4 million eligible voters to elect a president, 27 governors and 513 lawmakers.

Once the voting closes at 5.00 pm (20.00 GMT), the Superior Electoral Court will start releasing the initial results.

Vote counting is expected to be completed in a few hours, thanks to the electronic voting system Brazil has been using since 1996 and which Bolsonaro has cast doubts on.

If none of the presidential hopefuls get more than 50% of the votes in the first round, the two most voted candidates will take on each other in a runoff scheduled for October 30.

This year’s elections, the most polarized since Brazil regained democracy in 1985, have been overshadowed by tensions between Lula and Bolsonaro, triggering a series of attacks between supporters. EFE

wgm/smq/ch