Brazil's national election authority on Sunday began reporting the initial results of the country's presidential election, in which leftist former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva aims to unseat incumbent Jair Bolsonaro.
With just 0.1% of voting machines counted, Lula had 51% of valid votes, compared to 37% for Bolsonaro, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) reported on its website. If no candidate wins over half the votes, excluding blank and spoiled ballots, the top two will face off in a second-round vote on Oct. 30.
Lula, the popular but tarnished ex-president vying to make a comeback at 76, vowed for his part to "get the country back to normal" after four divisive years under Bolsonaro.
"We don't want more hate, more discord," said Lula (2003-2010) after casting his ballot in his bastion in the southeastern state of Sao Paulo, kissing the paper slip given to voters.
Lula went into Sunday leading Bolsonaro with 50 percent of valid votes to 36 percent, according to a final poll from the Datafolha institute.
That put the veteran leftist within arm's reach of winning outright and avoiding a runoff on October 30.
As polls closed at 5:00 pm (2000 GMT), supporters of both candidates gathered to watch the results roll in. The final outcome is expected around two hours later.
