Brazilian polls show Lula, Flavio Bolsonaro in technical tie

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro are statistically tied ahead of an Oct. 25 presidential runoff, according to polls released Tuesday by PoderData/Aya and BTG/Nexus.

The PoderData/Aya survey put Bolsonaro, of the Liberal Party (PL), at 51% of valid votes, compared to 49% for Lula, of the Workers' Party (PT). The BTG/Nexus poll showed Bolsonaro with 52% and Lula with 48%.

Both results fall within the respective margins of error, indicating a technical tie between the candidates.

PoderData/Aya recorded a narrower gap than in its survey on Oct. 8, when Bolsonaro led Lula by 53% to 47%.

The results represent a 2-percentage-point gain for Lula and a corresponding decline for Bolsonaro.

In voting intentions, PoderData/Aya recorded 48% for Bolsonaro and 46% for Lula, while BTG/Nexus put the candidates at 48% and 45%, respectively.

The remaining respondents were undecided, declined to answer or said they would cast blank or null ballots.

PoderData/Aya interviewed 3,000 voters by telephone between Oct. 10 and 12, with a margin of error of 1.8 percentage points.

BTG/Nexus interviewed 2,002 voters aged 16 and older during the same period, with a margin of error of 2 percentage points.

The BTG/Nexus survey was commissioned by financial institution BTG Pactual. Both polls were registered with Brazil's Superior Electoral Court.

In the first round on Oct. 4, Bolsonaro received 47.03% of valid votes, while Lula secured 45.16%, according to the results.

The candidates will face each other again on Oct. 25, when Brazilians will choose their next president.