Brazil election headed to runoff, projection shows, as Bolsonaro lead narrows

BRASILIA, Brazil — Senator Flavio Bolsonaro held a narrowing lead in the first round of Brazil’s presidential election Sunday, after more than half the votes were counted, with pollster Datafolha projecting ​that the election would proceed to a second vote.

Flavio, the 45-year-old son of former President Jair Bolsonaro who hopes to return his father’s right-wing movement to power, was leading leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 80, who is ‌seeking a fourth term, following a campaign dominated by corruption scandals, economic anxiety and accusations of U.S. meddling.

With nearly 85% of votes reported, Flavio led Lula with 48.47% of the votes to the president’s 43.49%. A candidate must pass 50% in order to win outright in the first round.

Private surveys in the run-up to the election had forecast Lula leading the first-round vote by around 3 percentage points.

The two leading candidates were expected to head into a second-round vote, Brazilian pollster Datafolha said. Surveys have shown Lula and Flavio polling roughly even in an October 25 runoff.

Early results showed southern states that lean to Bolsonaro reporting faster, while ​votes from Lula’s northeast stronghold have been tallied more slowly.

Analysts told Reuters they believed Flavio was…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/world