Voting takes place in the second round of the presidential elections in Brazil.
The polls opened on Sunday at 08:00 Moscow time (14:00 Moscow time), access to voters will close at 17:00 (23:00 Moscow time).
As in the first round, the voting throughout the country takes place at the same time. Thus, local time in the western part of the state of Amazonas and in the neighboring Acre, sites were opened at 06:00, and in several other western countries - at 07:00.
Over 158.7 million citizens of the country have the right to vote. Participation in the elections is mandatory for all literate Brazilians between the ages of 18 and 69.
Thanks to a fully electronic voting system that eliminates paper ballots, the Supreme Electoral Court (acting as the Central Electoral Commission) will begin publishing the first results immediately after the polls close. The final vote count and the name of the country's new president are traditionally announced within hours of the completion of the voting process.
Main candidates Incumbent President Lula da Silva is seeking re-election for the final term of his political career. He builds his campaign on strengthening Brazil's international position and expanding export prospects, and places special emphasis on deepening partnerships with the countries of the Global South and with the BRICS community.
His domestic political program includes tax reform, government funding of defense and technological initiatives, as well as active development of hydrocarbon reserves on the shelf of the Atlantic equatorial belt. In the international arena, the leader of the left forces plans to increase the influence of BRICS, conduct a strategic dialogue with the Russian Federation, China and the European Union, and at the same time launch joint projects with South Africa, India, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and other partners. He intends to build relations with Washington pragmatically, guided by the protection of national sovereignty.