Runoff needed to decide Brazil presidency

The good news for Dilma Rousseff was that she easily beat Jose Serra in today’s elections for the Brazilian presidency. The bad news for her was that she couldn’t avoid a runoff.

With about 95% of the ballots counted for Worker’s Party candidate Rousseff received just over 46% of the vote, just short of the majority she would’ve required to win the presidency. The woman selected by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to succeed him will have to run against the conservative Serra in the next stage.

According to Reuters Rousseff is “favored to beat Serra in the runoff” that will take place on October 31st. Yet the deciding factor could be former environmental minister Mariana Silva who received 20% of the vote. The Green party candidate could be a “king or queen maker” said Jonathan Wheatley of the Financial Times’ beyondbrics blog who also wrote:

Of the three leading candidates, (Silva) was the only one to use TV debates to promote reform of Brazil’s bloated pensions system, for example. Already this evening, leaders of Serra’s PSDB have been calling on her to secure her support.

It could be a bruising second round, with more surprises on store.

Aside from the presidency Brazilian voters also went to the ballots to choose thousands of local and legislative representatives. Clown-turned-comedian Francisco Everardo Oliveira Silva “Tiririca” received over 1.1 million votes and easily won his bid for the Chamber of Deputies. (Whether he will be legally allowed to take his seat is another issue, however).

Image- The Guardian (Dilma Rousseff fell short of preventing a runoff in Brazil’s presidential race).
Online Sources- Folha Online, Reuters, FT.com, globo.com, The Latin Americanist