RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 31 — Far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and veteran leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva were neck and neck Sunday with about half of polling stations reporting in Brazil's down-to-the-wire presidential runoff election.
Ex-army captain Bolsonaro had a narrowing lead, with 50.3 per cent of the vote to 49.7 per cent for former president Lula, with 50.9 per cent of polling stations reporting, according to official results.
Lula, who led Latin America's largest economy from 2003 to 2010, entered the race the slight favourite, according to opinion polls.
But Bolsonaro finished much closer than pollsters had predicted in the first-round election on October 2 — with 43 per cent of the vote, to 48 per cent for Lula — and many pundits say the race will go down to the last vote. — AFP
