MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolsonaro has 10-points lead over Haddad, and would tie in the runoff, says Ibope opinion poll

Bolsonaro, according to Ibope, has 31% of voter support in a simulated first-round ballot, while Haddad has 21%.

Brazil's far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro has a 10-point lead over the Workers Party candidate Fernando Haddad, and would tie in a second-round runoff against him next month, an opinion poll showed on Monday.

Bolsonaro, who is recovering from a near-fatal stabbing, has increased his lead ahead of the election this Sunday, 7 October, with 31% of voter support in a simulated first-round ballot, the survey by polling firm Ibope said, while Haddad has 21%.

In the likely case of a runoff vote, on October 28, required if no candidate takes a majority, Bolsonaro and Haddad both had 42%, with the remaining voters undecided or saying they would annul their ballots.

Haddad surged after he replaced jailed former president Lula da Silva on the Workers Party ticket, who was banned last month by an electoral court from running from prison, but his support remained stagnant compared to the same Ibope poll last week.

Bolsonaro gained on Haddad in the runoff scenario. Last week Haddad had 42% against Bolsonaro’s 38%.

Ibope said support for center-left candidate Ciro Gomes remained stable at 11%, while business-friendly former Sao Paulo governor Geraldo Alckmin dropped to 8%. Blank or annulled vote was 12% and those undecided or did not answer, 5%.

The poll, published by the Estado de S.Paulo newspaper and TV Globo, surveyed 3,010 voters across Brazil on Sept. 29 and 30. It has a margin of error of two percentage points.