Brazil’s Rousseff to face Neves in election run-off

Preliminary results, released on Sunday, showed that country’s incumbent President Dilma Rousseff will have to face centrist politician Aecio Neves in a run-off.

The figures, based on 88 percent of the ballots counted so far, indicate that Rousseff secured over 40 percent of the first round votes, falling short of the 50 percent mark to win outright.

Social Democrat Neves ended in second place with about 34 percent of the ballot.

Over 142 million Brazilians were eligible to vote on Sunday. The run-off is scheduled for October 26.

Rousseff enjoys the support of the poorest spectrum of the Brazilian society, as the strong social programs of her Workers’ Party have moved millions out of poverty into the middle class during the nearly 12 years in office.

She had promised to expand those social programs and continue state involvement in the economy.

Critics say such policies create a poor business environment, and the country’s main stock market has reacted negatively to every new poll showing Rousseff’s growing popularity.

On Sunday, Brazilians also elected the governors of 27 states, filling 513 seats in the lower house of the Congress, and chose 1,069 regional lawmakers, as well as one-third of the Senate.

Source: PressTV