Brazil set to elect new president

Brazil’s 135 million eligible voters are set to cast their ballots in a run-off election to decide who will succeed President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The ruling party’s candidate Dilma Rousseff is enjoying a double digit lead over rival Jose Serra on the last day of campaigning, according to the latest polls.

The two hopefuls, Rousseff, former cabinet chief of incumbent president, and Serra, former state governor of Sao Paulo from opposition Brazilian Social Democracy, wrapped up their campaigning on Saturday, AFP reported on Sunday.

The run-off vote is scheduled for Sunday in the Latin American country where voting is compulsory.

All surveys released on Saturday gave Rousseff a lead of between 10 and 13 percentage points, following a televised debate between the candidates late on Friday.

“We should win with a minimum advantage of 10 percentage points and a maximum of 15 points,” said Andre Vargas, communications secretary of Rousseff’s Workers’ Party.

Ruling party candidate Rousseff will be the first female Brazilian president if she wins the poll on Sunday.

The 62-year-old, whose bids for presidency have been backed by the outgoing president, won 47 percent of the ballots in the first round. She fell just short of the 50 plus one percent required to avoid the runoff.

Her rival Serra, 68, secured 33 percent of votes in the first round.