MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Haddad could defeat Bolsonaro in Brazil's runoff vote, according to latest poll

Bolsonaro remained the leader in simulated first-round voting, taking 28% voter approval, as he did in a Sept. 20 Datafolha poll. Haddad took 22%

Brazil’s Workers Party candidate, Fernando Haddad, would defeat far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro in an expected runoff vote in next month’s election, a Datafolha poll showed on Friday. In a simulated runoff vote, the poll found Haddad would get 45% voter support, beating Bolsonaro with 39%, with the rest of those asked saying they were undecided or would annul their ballot. Voting is compulsory in Brazil.

A second-round is required if no candidate wins a majority in the Oct. 7 first ballot, which is expected to happen.

Bolsonaro, who has been hospitalized since being stabbed in a Sept. 6 assassination attempt, remained the leader in simulated first-round voting, taking 28% voter approval, as he did in a Sept. 20 Datafolha poll.

Haddad took 22%, an increase of 6 percentage points.

Ciro Gomes, a center-left populist, had 11%, while business-friendly candidate Geraldo Alckmin registered 10% in a first-round scenario.

Datafolha surveyed 9,000 voters across Brazil from Wednesday through Friday. The poll, published by the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.

Haddad earlier this month replaced jailed former president Lula da Silva, a founder of the PT and who remains Brazil’s most popular politician. He handpicked Haddad to stand in his place and polls show he is successfully transferring his support. Haddad, a former mayor of Sao Paulo, has pledged to govern in a pragmatic fashion.

Bolsonaro, a former army captain who favors easing gun controls, shot ahead early in the race by tapping the anger of Brazilians fed up with political corruption and rising crime.

One of the most divisive election since the end of Brazil’s military rule three decades ago has become increasingly polarized between right and left, raising concerns about the future of the country’s democracy.