With 52 Percent of Brazil Votes Counted, Bolsonaro Has Slight Lead

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro speaks during a ceremony to announce new measures for the Entrepreneurial Brazil credit program at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, on May 25, 2022. (Sergio Lima/AFP via Getty Images)

RIO DE JANEIRO—With 52 percent of the votes counted, conservative incumbent Jair Bolsonaro is slightly leading former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil’s presidential election.

Bolsonaro has 46.3 percent support compared to 44.9 percent for da Silva of the leftist Workers’ Party. Six other candidates share the remaining votes in Sunday’s election.

It isn’t yet clear if either of the two candidates will be able to claim an outright victory. A possible runoff is scheduled for Oct. 30.

Polls closed at 5 p.m. (4 p.m. ET) nationwide and because the vote is conducted electronically, initial results are out quickly. Final results are usually available a few hours later.

Bolsonaro’s administration has built a devoted base by defending conservative values and presenting himself as protecting the nation from leftist policies that he says infringe on personal liberties and produce economic turmoil.

Da Silva is credited with building an extensive social welfare program during his 2003–2010 tenure. He is also remembered for his administration’s involvement in vast corruption scandals and his own convictions, which were later annulled by the Supreme Court.

More than 150 million Brazilians were eligible to vote, though abstention rates can reach as high as 20 percent.

Follow