Bolsonaro and Lula, in a vote-by-vote dispute while the count progresses in Brazil

• Visual report Five graphics to explain the Brazilian elections

Jair Bolsonaro and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva disputed this Sunday vote by vote the presidency of Brazil, in an election that showed the current president in advantage over the former president, although the results are far from definitive.

Counted 50%

of the votes in the fourth largest democracy in the world, Bolsonaro prevailed over Lula by 50.30 to 49.70% of the votes.

The current president's advantage was clearly less than the one he obtained in the first round at this same stage of the vote, which gives Lula hope of ending up winning the election to settle for the third time in his life in the Planalto Palace. .

moved in the usual values, 20.53%, similar to 21.30 in 2018 and 19.30 in 2014

.

The polls closed at 5:00 p.m. (9:00 p.m. in Spain) and, unlike what happened in the first round of October 2,

, in the ballot, the citizens of the big cities exhibited their political option with much more confidence.

If four weeks ago the warning was not to go out on the streets wearing red (Lula) or green-yellow (Bolsonaro), what Sao Paulo - the largest city in the West - showed during the nine hours of voting was to many citizens openly revealing their preferences: t-shirts, photos of the candidates, stickers with the list number.

"Lula, Lula!", sang groups of young people in the streets of Bela Vista, in the center of São Paulo.

"Twenty-two!" shouted others, two blocks away, mentioning the list number of the current president.

Joy prevailed over the undeniable political tension that the country is experiencing, graphed on Saturday with the amazing incident of a Bolsonaro federal deputy, Carla Zambelli, chasing, gun in hand, a man through the streets of Sao Paulo.

As the hours passed, a scandal took shape on election day: the Workers' Party (PT) denounced that the Federal Highway Police (PRF)

.

Thus, the left-wing party alleged, the right to vote was restricted.

According to "Folha de Sao Paulo", searches on buses increased by 70% compared to the first round.

Alexandre De Moraes, president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), rejected the PT's complaints

and assured that no one who wanted to cast his vote was left without doing so: "The damage that was caused to the voters was eventually the delay. But I will say it again, no bus returned to the origin. Everyone voted".

An indigenous leader votes in Manaus.Raphael AlvesEFE

"The most important day of my life"

Before these complaints surfaced, Bolsonaro, who went to vote shortly after the polling places opened at 8 a.m., said he believed he would reverse the result of the first round and win.

"We have had good news in recent days. God willing, we will win tonight. Or rather, it is Brazil that will win," the 67-year-old president said after casting his vote in

.

Lula voted in Sao Bernardo do Campo, the city on the outskirts of São Paulo where he grew up and became a union leader, first, and a politician, later.

"It is the most important day of my life," said the two-time president of Brazil (2003-2011), who at 77 is seeking a third presidency.

"I think it is a very important day for the Brazilian people, because today the people are defining the model of Brazil they want. I am convinced that the Brazilian people are going to vote for a project in which democracy is the winner."

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