Polls close in Brazil as Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro remain neck and neck
If no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, the election will go to a run-off on 25 October.
Polls close in Brazil as Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro remain neck and neck
About 160 million people are eligible to vote in Brazil's general election today.
Polls have now closed in Brazil's general election after voters waited in long lines for a closely fought first round of the presidential contest.
After voting, 80-year-old left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said the choice was between democracy and "barbarism".
His opponent, right-winger Flávio Bolsonaro, 45, said he wanted to "free the Brazilian people".
The race is expected to be tight. BBC Brazil's poll aggregator puts the gap between Lula and Bolsonaro at just two points. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, the election will go to a run-off on 25 October.
Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE) says more than 158.7 million Brazilians, including one million people living abroad, are eligible to vote.
Lula is facing 11 challengers, though BBC Brazil's poll aggregator indicates that candidates other than Lula and Bolsonaro will receive only around 10% of the vote.
The TSE has not announced a fixed time for the official results, but they are expected within hours because voting is electronic and past elections have shown that results usually come quickly.
A Bolsonaro victory would extend a string of wins across Latin America by right-wing candidates aligned with US President Donald Trump, while Lula's re-election would create difficulties for Washington, which has clashed with his government over trade and security.
Some countries where Brazilians abroad can vote have already published preliminary vote totals.
In China, Lula won 56.63% of the votes, while Bolsonaro finished second with 31.33%. Lula also won in countries including South Korea, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia.
In Israel, however, Bolsonaro won 74.40% of the valid votes. He also took 71.59% of the valid votes in Japan.
Today's outcome will also decide the makeup of the Senate from February 2027 onwards, since 54 of the Senate's 81 seats are up for election, accounting for two-thirds of the chamber.
At present, the biggest bloc in the Senate is Bolsonaro's Liberal Party (PL), followed by the Social Democratic Party (PSD), which has been part of a coalition government under Lula.
In the previous election four years ago, Lula narrowly beat Flávio Bolsonaro's father, Jair. But the chaotic aftermath of that vote, which saw Jair Bolsonaro convicted of plotting a coup after thousands of his supporters stormed the Brazilian Congress, has left a lasting mark on the country's political life and on this election.
Jair Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup and is barred from running for office.
Due to recurring health issues, he is currently under house arrest rather than in prison, but he has been banned from posting on social media or making public statements.
Even with those restrictions, there is little doubt that Flávio Bolsonaro has his father's support.