Brazil gearing up for runoff vote

People in Brazil are preparing to cast their votes in a presidential runoff as both contenders wrap up their election campaign.

On Sunday, Brazilians are set to vote in a runoff, which has been described as the hardest-fought in the country’s recent memory.

Polls will open at 0900 and close at 1800 GMT, and the results are expected on Monday morning. The winner will be sworn into office on January 1, 2015,

According to the latest opinion polls by Brazil’s major polling firms, Ibope and Datafolha, incumbent president Dilma Rousseff has a clear lead of between six to eight percentage points over Aecio Neves.

According to the statistics released by Ibope, Rousseff has 49 percent of voter support while her rival has 41 percent. The other polling center, Datafolha, gave the lead to Rousseff with 48 percent of the vote versus 42 percent for Neves.

Lower income voters prefer Rousseff, a 66-year old socialist. Neves, a pro-business Social Democrat, enjoys the lead among high-income voters and the highly educated.

In Brazil’s October 5 elections no candidate managed to win the absolute majority, thus putting off the final decision to the Sunday runoff. 

Rousseff, 66-years-old, was elected Brazil’s first woman president in 2010.

Pro-business Neves has gained ground since his surprise performance in the first round, when he finished second ahead of popular environmentalist Marina Silva and behind Rousseff.

On October 12, Neves secured Silva’s endorsement, enhancing his chances for Sunday’s vote.

Meanwhile, recent allegations of bribery involving Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras and top government officials are likely to adversely affect Rousseff’s runoff campaign.

SRK/NN/AS