Brazil is voting on Sunday 25 October in a presidential runoff between incumbent president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of Lula's predecessor Jair Bolsonaro. Neither candidate won more than half of the valid votes in the first round on 4 October, triggering the second round. Flavio Bolsonaro led that round with 47% of the vote against Lula's 45%, setting up one of the closest and most consequential elections in Latin America's largest economy in years.

Two sharply different offers

Flavio Bolsonaro has campaigned on changing the constitution, pardoning his father over an alleged coup plot, and easing environmental restrictions, a prospect that alarms conservationists given the Amazon rainforest's global importance. Lula, seeking a fourth term at the age of 80, presents himself as the defender of democratic institutions and social programmes. Voting is aligned to Brasilia time, with polls closing at 17:00 in the capital, after which the electoral authority can begin releasing results from polling sections.

Why the world is watching

The outcome will shape Brazil's relations with the United States, its climate commitments and its role in South America. A Bolsonaro win would move Latin America's largest economy closer to Donald Trump, while a Lula win would continue the current government's course. The contest is one of several pivotal elections within ten days that analysts say could either halt or reinforce a global drift away from democratic norms. DailyByte will report the result once the Superior Electoral Court publishes official figures, rather than calling the race from partial returns.