SAO PAULO (MNI) - Official results in Brazil's presidential elections Sunday show President Lula's anointed successor Dilma Rousseff has a substantial lead over her nearest opponent but she remains short of the 50% needed to avoid a runoff Oct. 31.
With 78.8% of votes counted, Dilma has 45.4% of valid votes, short of the minimum to win the election outright and avoid a run-off vote against former Sao Paulo state governor Jose Serra, with 33.9%. However, unofficial exit polls give Dilma Rousseff 51% of valid votes.
The official votes remain skewed in favor of Serra as the poorer, northern states where her support should be strongest have so far reported a smaller percentage of votes than the richer southern ones.
It is still possible that when results are tallied from the strongholds of Rousseff's Workers' Party (PT), she may still be able to pull off a first round victory.
The big surprise so far has been the strong showing of the Green Party candidate, Marina Silva, who with 20.4% of the partial votes seems to have taken votes from Dilma. If the election goes to a run-off round, Silva is not expected to make an endorsement, but political analysts say the vast majority of her votes would go to Rousseff, who could remain the overwhelming favorite.
The Liquid Team - 03 Oct 2010
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