Elections in Brazil: Bolsonaro expects to emerge "victorious" and Lula declares it is "the most important day" of his life

More than 156 million Brazilians are taking to the streets today to decide who will govern their country for the next four years. Voting takes place in 5,570 cities across the country and 181 locations abroad. All polling stations will be open until 5:00 pm.

In the run-up to the first round, former president Lula da Silva led with 48.4% of support, while current president Jair Bolsonaro had 43.2%. In this second round, the new president and vice-president will be elected, and the governors of twelve Brazilian states are still to be decided.

Voting is allowed from the age of 16 and compulsory from 18 to 70. Those who do not vote and do not have a valid justification must pay a fine of $0.66 (3.51 Brazilian reais). The current concern is in regards to undecided voters and those who abstain, who make up 20% of the total population.

Voting day

Jair Bolsonaro asked his supporters to go to the polling stations wearing green and yellow, the colors of the national flag. He also said he expects to be "victorious":

After going to vote, the current president met with the Flamengo soccer team, which arrived in Rio de Janeiro from Ecuador after winning the Libertadores Cup on Saturday. The president is scheduled to fly to Brasilia to follow the voting results from the presidential palace.

Candidate Lula da Silva exercised his right to vote on the outskirts of São Paulo.“Today is the most important day of my life," he declared from the polling station where he met with his supporters:

Former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who also went to the polls, said she was confident that Lula would win the second round and spoke about the future of the country: "When I left the Planalto Palace because of that completely illegal and fraudulent 'impeachment,’ I said we would return. We have to rebuild Brazil.”