Roughly 120 million Brazilians are expected to have voted today in the second and decisive round of the presidential election. It is between the incumbent president – the right-wing nationalist Jair Bolsonaro – who is being challenged by the former president – the left-wing candidate Lula da Silva.
According to opinion polls, it is very even – with a slight advantage for Lula da Silva. SVT’s foreign correspondent Tigran Feiler tells us that the first votes have already been counted and that preliminary results have started trickling in. However, a fair result will probably not be available before midnight Swedish time.
– They have an electronic counting system, so the counting of votes usually goes quickly, the first votes have already come in, he says in SVT’s Aktuell:t.
The police set up roadblocks
It has been an extremely polarized and heated election campaign. How will the election results be received depending on which side wins?
– It is one of the big question marks that exist. The president, Bolsonaro, has spent several years questioning the Brazilian electoral system without any real evidence, he says.
Feiler also says that there were a number of incidents during the election day itself. The police must have set up roadblocks on several streets, which will greatly affect freedom of movement.
– It is something that could be used by the Lula side if they were to lose, he says.
– That it will become infected is very likely – regardless of how it goes.
The text is updated.