Brazilian Elections Start, Lula’s Victory is Most Likely

On Sunday, 156.4 million Brazilians are summoned to cast their vote at polling stations that will be open from 8 am to 5 pm local time.

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They will elect the president of the Republic, 27 governors, 583 representatives to the Lower House, a third of members of the Senate, and representatives of the regional parliaments.

The attendance of citizens at polling stations began early and shows their enthusiasm for transforming the country's course. On Saturday, the consulting company IPEC published its latest poll of voting intentions.

The data shows that the Workers' Party candidate Lula da Silva has already reached 51 percent of the valid votes, which gives him the possibility of reaching the Presidency in a single round. The leftist candidate has a 14 percentage point lead over President Jair Bolsonaro, who recently hinted that he would leave Brazil if Lula da Silva becomes president.

One of the first citizens to vote was precisely Lula da Silva, who voted at 8:45 am in Sao Bernardo do Campo in the state of Sao Paulo. After casting his vote, he made statements to the press in which he recalled his commitment to respect for citizens.

"May this country never again have a president who doesn't care what happens to the people... We don't want any more hate or discord. We want a country that lives in peace and can build its own future," he stressed.

"Our people want to be happy...This country is going to be much better," Lula da Silva said optimistically given the possibility of removing Bolsonaro from the presidency.