- Title: BRAZIL: Polls close in Presidential runoff election
- Date: 1st November 2010
- Summary: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (OCTOBER 31, 2010) (REUTERS) PEOPLE WALKING ON COPACABANA BEACH SIDEWALK GENERAL VIEW OF PEOPLE ON THE BEACH PEOPLE WALKING ON THE STREETS EXTERIOR OF PUBLIC SCHOOL THAT WAS TURNED INDO A POLLING STATION ELECTORAL WORKERS AND VOTERS IN VOTING ROOM CLOSE VOTER SIGNING OF PRESENCE BOOK WOMAN VOTING CLOSE OF VOTING BOOTH, READING: "ELECTORAL JUSTICE" WOMAN VOTING GENERAL VIEW OF ELECTORAL WORKER CLOSING GATE OF VOTING STATION CLOSE OF GATE CLOSED (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) ELECTORAL WORKER JOAO LUIS BENTES, SAYING: "Well, after 5 p.m. nobody can come in to vote anymore. We have already closed the voting and now we are only letting people, who are still in building, leave." BENTES IN FRONT OF GATE BARRING A VOTER WHO ARRIVED LATE PEOPLE WALKING ON COPACABANA BEACH SIDEWALK BRASILIA, BRAZIL (OCTOBER 31, 2010) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS EXTERIOR OF BRAZIL'S CONGRESS BRAZILIAN FLAG VARIOUS OF EXTERIORS OF BRAZIL'S SUPREME ELECTORAL TRIBUNAL BRASILIA, BRAZIL (OCTOBER 31, 2010) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (BRAZIL'S SUPREME ELECTORAL COURT HANDOUT) (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) BRAZIL'S SUPREME ELECTORAL TRIBUNAL PRESIDENT, ENRIQUE RICARDO LEWANDOWSKI, SAYING: "As we all know, due to the time zones, the election has not been closed yet in the country. We have a two-hour difference in some states that are on different time zones, therefore, the first results will only be announced, as we have previously said, after 7 p.m." AUDIENCE AND REPORTERS GENERAL VIEW OF NEWS CONFERENCE
- Embargoed: 16th November 2010 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Brazil
- Country: Brazil
- Topics: Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA5MP863FVSOJBJ0JVBQINSVFYP
- Story Text: Brazil's presidential runoff closes in most of the country with ruling Workers' Party Dilma Rousseff expected to become the country's upcoming president.
Brazil's polling stations closed on Sunday (October 31) evening and electoral workers began to tally votes of the election that is widely expected to favor Dilma Rousseff, a left-leaning civil servant who has vowed to keep Brazil on its path of economic prosperity.
Pre-election surveys indicated that ruling Workers' Party Rousseff enjoyed a comfortable lead and would likely sail into power to become the nation's first female president.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's anointed successor faces Jose Serra of the opposition PSDB party, after neither won more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round a month ago.
Voting stations opened at 8 a.m. (1000 GMT) from the Amazon rain forest to the violence-plagued slums of beachside Rio de Janeiro and closed at 5 p.m. (1900 GMT).
Brazil is the world's fourth most populous democracy and voting is electronic, meaning that results could be in before Monday.
In Copacabana beach, Rio residents went to a public school that was turned in to a polling station to pick their upcoming leader.
After the gates were locked, electoral worker Joao Luis Bentes said that voting in the station was closed.
"Well, after 5 p.m. nobody can come in to vote anymore. We have already closed the voting and now we are only letting people, who are still in building, leave," he said, right after he barred a voter who arrived late.
Due to the country's continental dimensions, some Brazilian states in the northern region are on different time zones, a couple of hours behind.
In the capital Brasilia, the president of Brazil's Supreme Electoral Tribunal, Enrique Ricardo Lewandowski, said that because of the time difference, some states hadn't yet closed their voting stations.
"As we all know, due to the time zones, the election has not been closed yet in the country. We have a two-hour difference in some states that are on different time zones, therefore, the first results will only be announced, as we have previously said, after 7 p.m," he said.
Some 136 million Brazilians took to polls on the presidential runoff.
Thousands of military officers stepped up security across the country to guard the electronic ballot boxes and guarantee the election would be carried out safely.
Dozens of people were detained for having campaigned on the elections day. On Sunday, distributing pamphlets or making any type of verbal demonstration in favor of any candidate is considered a crime.
Partial official counts are expected to be released after 7 p.m. (2100 GMT). - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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