Brazilians in Ireland set to vote in country's run-off presidential election

BRAZILIANS WILL GO to the polls on Sunday in the second round of the country’s presidential election between leftist incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and right-wing senator Flávio Bolsonaro. 

Lula received 45% of the vote compared to Bolsonaro’s 47% in the first round of voting earlier this month, but both fell short of the necessary 50% of valid votes needed to win outright. Polls show a technical tie ahead of the run-off.

The winner will be in charge of Latin America’s biggest economy and a population of 214 million. A win for Bolsonaro would increase US influence in Latin America, but a Lula win would mean Brazil keeping its distance from Washington.

In Ireland, thousands of Brazilians will travel to Dublin to cast their ballots. According to the Brazilian embassy, some 8,437 people voted here in the first round of the election – the largest number to date.

How voting works here

Voting will take place in Hall 2 of the RDS from 8am to 5pm on Sunday. 

There will be some traffic disruption as a result of the Dublin Marathon, where the first race will kick off at 8.40am. 

The Brazilian embassy said Merrion Road will be open until 9.30am for those driving. It advised that anyone coming to vote after that time should arrive via Donnybrook Road and access the RDS via the Anglesea Road gate.

A full list of road closures as a result of the marathon can be found here. 

Some bus and train services will also be impacted. 

According to Dublin Bus, routes including the E1, E2, 4, 7 and 7a, 11, 11b, 14 and 39a will see some changes both before and after 11am, when the race is underway. You can find a full list of diversions here.

Dart stations Lansdowne and Sandymount are among 17 stations that will be closed this weekend due to engineering works.

The Brazilian embassy has also advised people not to forget that the clocks are going back overnight 

How does voting in Brazil work?

More than 119 million people voted in the first round of the presidential election earlier this month. 

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Voting is compulsory in Brazil for citizens aged 18 to 70, and optional for those aged 16 and 17, people over 70 and illiterate voters. A citizen who does not vote in a presidential election must justify why using an app on their phone or the court website. 

Failure to do this will result in a citizen being issued a small fine of €3.51 (€0.62), but until it is paid, the citizen will not be able to get a passport, sit public exams or draw a public salary.

Unlike Ireland and many other countries who use paper ballots, Brazil conducts its elections entirely through electronic voting.

This means that rather than boxes having to be counted for hours, the electronic ballot box calculates the votes and prints a document that shows how many votes each candidate received on that machine. The document is then sent to Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE).

Bolsonaro v Lula

With 56 million votes, Flavio Bolsonaro’s first round performance outdid that of his father Jair in 2018, when he was elected, and 2022.

Jair Bolsonaro is unable to run himself as he serves a 27-year sentence for an attempted coup after losing the last election.

But his eldest son has quickly won over his conservative base, many of whom refuse to accept that Lula won the 2022 contest. Bolsonaro has campaigned on releasing his father and bringing him back into politics if elected.

The 45-year-old has also promised to crack down on Brazilian criminal groups and insisted that Brazil needs to strike better deals with the Trump administration, including in the rare minerals economy, second only to China.

Lula, who is seeking his fourth non-consecutive term in office, has tried to capitalise on the popularity of his social policies and his rival’s many legal woes.

While the once widely popular 80-year-old saw his approval ratings plummet during his third term, standing up to the US gave him a boost. He also still enjoys a strong base of supporters who credit his social policies for improving millions of Brazilians’ lives.

Both candidates face image problems in the deeply polarised nation.

Roughly half of Brazil’s population disapproves of the Bolsonaro family, and roughly half disapprove of Lula’s Workers’ Party, according to multiple polls.

When will we know the result?

Brazil’s electoral court will begin to publish results from across the country at 5pm Brasília time (8pm Irish time) on Sunday, when polling closes. 

While we don’t know for sure when the clear winner will emerge, it’s expected that it will be within hours of the polls closing.