Brazil set for election run-off
By Serra John,WNS Brazil Correspondent
SAO PAULO - President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil has narrowly failed to win re-election outright in the first round of the presidential election. Lula needed at least 50% of the vote to avoid a run-off on 29 October, but fell about 1% short, officials say. He will now go head to head with former Sao Paulo governor Geraldo Alckmin, who took 41.4% of the vote. Mr Alckmin gained ground late in the campaign, after President Lula's party was accused of dirty tricks. He emerged from his Sao Paulo apartment to thank voters for their support.
"I'm heading to the second round with a great chance of winning the election," a beaming Mr Alckmin told reporters. There was no immediate comment from the president - but his aide Tarso Genro told reporters: "We were ready for the first round and we also will be ready for the second round."
With four more weeks of campaigning ahead, he remains the favourite, but suddenly the race looks much more competitive. The president had a comfortable lead in the weeks leading up to the election, but opinion polls showed a dip in support for him amid scandals involving his Workers' Party.
Two weeks ago two men with links to the party were arrested carrying $800,000 dollars in cash, which detectives believe was to have paid for a dossier of corruption allegations against the president's rivals. The scandal led Lula to sack his campaign manager, but it resurfaced over the weekend with newspapers publishing photographs of the wads of banknotes. The president denies ever engaging in smear tactics.
posted by wnsworld @ 9:36 AM
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