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Brasilia, October 3 (RHC)-- The Superior Electoral Court (TSE) of Brazil is finishing the count of votes of the elections held this Sunday in the South American country, and indicated that there will be a presidential runoff between the most voted candidates, being Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Jair Bolsonaro.

The second round is scheduled to be held on Sunday, October 30th, according to the schedule established by the electoral authority.   Through its web portal, the entity specified that with 98.44 percent of the tallies counted, the candidate and leader of the Workers' Party (PT), Lula, has 48.30 percent, which represents 56,009,545 votes.   Jair Bolsonaro has 43.20 percent, or 50,661,914 votes. 

In third place is candidate Simone Tebet 4.19 percent and former minister Ciro Gomes, who has 3.05 percent.  The other candidates have so far reached less than one percent.

Polling stations opened at 08H00 local time (11H00 GMT) and closed at 17H00 (20H00 GMT), ready for more than 156 million eligible voters to exercise their right to vote.

Hours before, the president of the TSE, Alexandre de Moraes, highlighted that this election day was clean, transparent and safe, besides that there was a great affluence of voters.

This first round of the presidential elections can be won by the candidate with more than 50 percent of the votes.  Otherwise, there must be a second round between the two candidates with the highest support, to be held on October 30.