With 99.99 percent of the votes tallied, Flavio Bolsonaro of the Liberal Party (PL) surprised by finishing ahead in Sunday’s first round, with 47.03 percent of valid votes, equivalent to 56,104,422 ballots.

Meanwhile, Lula of the Workers’ Party (PT) got 45.16 percent, with 53,878,385 votes, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) reported.

Neither candidate reached the absolute majority needed to win in the first round; consequently, they will face each other again in three weeks.

After the result was revealed, Flavio Bolsonaro affirmed that the figures reflected a desire for change in the country and stated that the “end of the PT era” had been decreed.

Lula, in turn, acknowledged that he had hoped to win in the first round and described the result as unexpected, though he called on his supporters to face the next election stage.

The campaign thus enters a new phase, marked by a confrontation between two political projects and a contest for the votes of those who dropped out of the presidential race, as well as the millions of voters who did not participate in the first round.

abo/iff/ocs/mar