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| Brazil election: Voters choosing next president | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| More than 142 million Brazilians are voting to choose the country's next president, following a dramatic election campaign. | |
| Early on, incumbent Dilma Rousseff had been expected to win outright. | Early on, incumbent Dilma Rousseff had been expected to win outright. |
| However, the death of one of the main candidates and the popularity of his replacement, environmentalist Marina Silva, means the vote is now likely go to a second round. | However, the death of one of the main candidates and the popularity of his replacement, environmentalist Marina Silva, means the vote is now likely go to a second round. |
| Ms Rousseff's other main rival is Aecio Neves, a centrist, pro-business figure. | Ms Rousseff's other main rival is Aecio Neves, a centrist, pro-business figure. |
| Voting began at 0800 (11:00 GMT), and voters will also select a federal parliament and state governors. | |
| Mr Neves was narrowly ahead of Ms Silva, according to several opinion polls published on Saturday, which all put Ms Rousseff in a commanding lead with about 45%. | Mr Neves was narrowly ahead of Ms Silva, according to several opinion polls published on Saturday, which all put Ms Rousseff in a commanding lead with about 45%. |
| Brazil's voting system is all electronic and is likely to deliver a result within an hour or two of polls closing at 22:00GMT. | Brazil's voting system is all electronic and is likely to deliver a result within an hour or two of polls closing at 22:00GMT. |
| On the eve of the vote, the Superior Electoral Court moved to dismissed reports that the system was vulnerable to hacking, saying it was "fraud-proof", despite frequent attempts to hack into the ballots. | On the eve of the vote, the Superior Electoral Court moved to dismissed reports that the system was vulnerable to hacking, saying it was "fraud-proof", despite frequent attempts to hack into the ballots. |
| During Ms Rousseff's tenure as president, unemployment has been lower than under any of her predecessors, at about 5%. The minimum wage has risen and the number of undernourished Brazilians has been falling. | During Ms Rousseff's tenure as president, unemployment has been lower than under any of her predecessors, at about 5%. The minimum wage has risen and the number of undernourished Brazilians has been falling. |
| But the past 18 months have been marred by recession and corruption scandals, and protests over poor public services and the World Cup costs. | But the past 18 months have been marred by recession and corruption scandals, and protests over poor public services and the World Cup costs. |
| Despite widespread dissatisfaction with Ms Rousseff's centre-left Workers' Party (PT), polls early in the campaign suggested she was well ahead of her leading rivals - who were then Mr Neves and Socialist Eduardo Campos. | Despite widespread dissatisfaction with Ms Rousseff's centre-left Workers' Party (PT), polls early in the campaign suggested she was well ahead of her leading rivals - who were then Mr Neves and Socialist Eduardo Campos. |
| But then Mr Campos died in a plane crash and his replacement, Ms Silva, emerged as a surprisingly strong contender. | But then Mr Campos died in a plane crash and his replacement, Ms Silva, emerged as a surprisingly strong contender. |
| However, the former minister and environmental campaigner has lost ground in recent days. | However, the former minister and environmental campaigner has lost ground in recent days. |
| Most analysts expect no clear winner to emerge in the first round. This mean the top two candidates are likely to face each other in a second round on 26 October. | Most analysts expect no clear winner to emerge in the first round. This mean the top two candidates are likely to face each other in a second round on 26 October. |
| Voting is mandatory for those aged between 18 and 70. | Voting is mandatory for those aged between 18 and 70. |