Lula could win Brazil vote in first round – Poll

BRAZIL: Leftist ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has increased his lead over far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro 10 months out from Brazil’s elections and could win in the first round, a poll found Thursday.

Lula, who led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, has 48 per cent of the vote to 22 per cent for Bolsonaro, found leading pollster Datafolha.

Despite a push from the political center for a “third-way” candidate, no others reached double digits in the poll.

Ex-Justice Minister Sergio Moro has 9 per cent of the vote, former Ceara state governor Ciro Gomes 7 per cent and current Sao Paulo state Governor Joao Doria 4 per cent, it found.

Eight per cent of respondents said they would cast blank ballots or abstain, while 2 per cent were undecided, Datafolha said.

That means if the elections were held today, Lula would have enough votes to win in the first round. Brazilian electoral law requires a candidate to win more than half of all valid votes, subtracting blank and spoiled ballots.

The new poll was carried out from December 13 to 16 with 3,666 respondents and a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points. – THE MALAY MAIL