Brazil statistics the number of votes in the presidential race Lula-Bolsonaro According to Reuters

By Victor Borges

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s electoral authorities began counting votes on Sunday in the first round of the country’s most polarizing elections in decades, with leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva backing to beat defending right-winger Jair Bolsonaro.

The national election authority said on its website that only 0.2 percent of the electronic voting machines were counted, with both Lula and Bolsonaro getting about 44 percent of the vote.

There were reports of long lines at polling stations closing at 5pm (2000 GMT) as many Brazilians went to vote in a tense election, highlighted by isolationist violence and concerns about the There was a sharp increase in gun ownership under Bolsonaro.

Military police in Sao Paulo said a man entered a polling station and shot two police officers receiving medical attention.

Most opinion polls give Lula a 10-15 percentage point lead, but Bolsonaro has signaled he may refuse to accept defeat, raising fears of an institutional crisis. If Lula gets more than 50% of the valid votes, which some pollsters suggest is within reach, he should win outright, before running away.

In Brasilia, 45-year-old Ricardo Almeida voted to wear the yellow and green colors of the Brazilian flag. “I voted for (Bolsonaro) because of his Christian faith, his defense of family values, and his conservative politics,” he said.

Wearing a “Get Out Bozo” shirt, Anna Luisa, 70, of Rio de Janeiro, said she voted for Lula for the first time.

“I have to take down Bolsonaro,” she said, citing “homophobia” and his stance on Brazil’s 1964-85 military dictatorship, which Bolsonaro had long supported.

Despite ending the government in 2003-2010 with record popularity, Lula is still loathed by many Brazilians after he was found guilty of accepting bribes. The leftist, who served as president from 2003 to 2010, was jailed in the last election. But his conviction was later overturned by the Supreme Court, allowing him to take on rival Bolsonaro this year.

Voting in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Lula acknowledged the dramatic change in his fortunes following a prosecution he called politically motivated.

“It was an important day for me,” he said. “Four years ago, I couldn’t vote because I was the victim of a lie… I wanted to try to get my country back to normal.”

Bolsonaro voted in Rio, and says he hopes to win Sunday’s first-round election, despite his poor performance in the polls, which he claims did not win the support of the people.

If no candidate wins more than half of the votes, excluding empty and damaged ballots, the top two will go to the run on October 30.