Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and right wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro are virtually tied in a potential second round of Brazil’s October presidential election, according to a new poll released on Monday.
The Nexus survey, commissioned by BTG Pactual, showed Lula with 46% support in a simulated runoff against Bolsonaro, who received 45%. The result marks a narrowing of the race compared with an earlier poll that gave Lula a 47% to 44% advantage.
In a first round scenario, Lula remains ahead with 41% support, while Bolsonaro follows closely with 37%. Other candidates included Ronaldo Caiado with 5%, Renan Santos with 3% and Romeu Zema with 3%.
The previous survey had Lula at 41% and Bolsonaro at 36%, indicating that Bolsonaro has gained some ground in the first round while Lula’s support remained unchanged.
Brazilian electoral rules require a candidate to secure more than 50% of valid votes to win outright. If no candidate reaches that threshold, the two leading candidates proceed to a second round.
The latest Nexus survey questioned 2,006 people between August 21 and 23 and has a margin of error of two percentage points.
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