Far-right candidate poll lead rises to 10 points, poll shows
SAO PAULO: Brazil’s far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro has a 10-point lead over leftist Workers Party candidate Fernando Haddad, and would tie in a second-round runoff against him next month, an opinion poll showed on Monday.
Mr Bolsonaro, who is recovering from a near-fatal stabbing, has increased his lead ahead of the election this Sunday, with 31% of voter support in a simulated first-round ballot, the survey by polling firm Ibope said. Mr Haddad has 21%.
In the likely case of a runoff vote on Oct 28, which is required if no candidate takes a majority, Mr Bolsonaro and Mr Haddad both have 42%, with the remaining voters undecided or saying they would choose to annul their ballots.
Mr Haddad surged ahead after he replaced jailed former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on the Workers Party ticket, who was banned last month by an electoral court from running from behind bars.
However, his support remained stagnant compared to the same Ibope poll last week.
Mr Bolsonaro gained on Mr Haddad in the runoff scenario. Last week, Mr Haddad had 42% against Mr Bolsonaro’s 38%.
Ibope said support for center-left candidate Ciro Gomes remained stable at 11%, while the support for business-friendly former Sao Paulo governor Geraldo Alckmin dropped to 8%.
The poll, published by the right-leaning Estado de S Paulo newspaper as well as TV Globo, surveyed 3,010 voters across Brazil on Sept 29 and 30. It has a margin of error of two percentage points.