BRAZIL: President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva and his opponent Geraldo Alckmin cast their votes in Brazil's presidential run-off

President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva and his opponent Geraldo Alckmin cast their votes in Sao Paulo shortly after polls opened for Brazil's presidential run-off on Sunday (October 29). After waving to the crowd from his balcony, Lula left his residence at an apartment building not far from downtown Sao Paolo and headed for a local polling station. Supporters mixed with press outside the building waited for Lula to appear below, but he drove past all but hidden behind the tinted windows of a black sedan. At another polling station in Sao Paulo, Alckmin flashed smiles and thumbs up to numerous cameras as he cast his vote where he was once the governor. After voting, Alckmin posed for press with his family, former President Ferando Enhique Cardoso and the current governor of Sao Paulo Jose Serra. Sunday's run-off was largely the result of corruption scandals that raised questions about incumbent Lula's Worker's Party, contributing to his failure to garner the 50 percent majority needed to win the Oct. 1 elections outright. However, the charismatic former union leader again won the support of many in televised debates with his opponent, coming off as relaxed and savvy next to the dour, often repetitive Alckmin. Opinion polls released on the eve of the ballot showed Lula with some 61 percent of the vote against 39 percent for former Gov. Alckmin of the centrist Brazilian Social Democracy Party. Despite the survey results showing Lula's sizable lead, many are concerned that Brazil is becoming increasingly polarized. Leading magazine Veja asked "Two Brazils after the vote?" in its front-page headline this weekend, reflecting concern about divisions between the rich south and the poorer north. In words to the press on Sunday, Lula said the country is strongly united. "Brazil cannot be divided. The people who think Brazil is divided are going to see that the results of the election show that Brazil is more united than ever," Lula said after casting his vote. Joining Lula and Alckmin at the ballot box on Sunday were roughly 125 million voters in the world's fourth-largest democracy. Electoral official Isidro Prieto said early Sunday that there had been no problems. "It's been very quiet up to this point. Not many people have voted, but they've voted easily, without problems. Things are running smoothly," Prieto said. Electoral authorities expect to have tallied 90 percent of the votes by 10 p.m.

ITN Source | October 29, 2006

Tags:. .union. .despite. .flashed. .waving. .posed