Former left-wing president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva expectedly won the most votes in the first round of Brazil's presidential election yesterday.

However, Lula did not pass the 50 percent threshold and on October 30 he will face a runoff against the current head of state - the right-wing populist Jair Bolsonaro, the world agencies quoted by BTA reported.

With 99.9 percent of the ballots cast counted, the one-time union leader leads with a score of 48.4 percent.

The former army captain remained second with 43.2 percent.

Lula's victory in the first round was expected.

The big question, however, was whether he would be able to cross the threshold of 50 percent and be re-elected yesterday as president of Brazil - a post he already held for two terms in the period 2003-2011.

Several opinion polls in the days leading up to the election gave Lula a 10-15 percent lead.

Some of them even predicted his victory in the first round.

The latest survey by the same agency, published a few days ago, gave the former president a victory in the first round with 50 percent of the vote - as much as 14 percent more than for the current head of state.

Lula da Silva with a serious lead in the elections in Brazil

A possible run-off could further intensify fierce polarization and simmering political tensions in Latin America's largest country and the world's fourth-largest democracy.

Also, the close results are expected to give a strong boost to Bolsonaro, who trailed Lula by 10-15 percent in polls whose reliability he disputed, Reuters noted.

"The fight continues until the final victory. We will win these elections," said the former Brazilian president confidently, quoted by France Press.

Lula added that he will continue to actively lead his election campaign.

"We beat the lies of" the polls, Bolsonaro said.

He expressed optimism that he would win the runoff.

Bolsonaro, who takes inspiration from former US President Donald Trump, has argued for months without providing any evidence that the electronic voting system is vulnerable to fraud - a claim rejected by legal experts.

Brazil's president, whose popularity has plummeted since the novel coronavirus pandemic hit the country hard, has threatened to not recognize the election results and call for protests.

But given his surprisingly good performance in the first round, it is unlikely that he will follow through on his threat, at least until the runoff.

Political analysts expect Bolsonaro's campaign to gain momentum, Reuters notes.

"The extreme right is very strong throughout Brazil," said political scientist Carlos Mello, who said "Lula's victory in the second round is now less likely."

The mood outside the family home of the Brazilian president in Rio de Janeiro last night was festive.

His supporter assured that the victory could only be taken from Bolsonaro by fraud.

"Investigations in our country, the media and journalists, are liars, scoundrels, shameless," said Maria Lourdes de Noronha.

"We will not recognize the results" if Bolsonaro loses, the 63-year-old warned.

Brazil

Lula da Silva

Jair Bolsonaro