Close race: Dilma Rousseff (left), of the Workers' Party, and Aecio Neves, of the Social Democracy Party.
Brasilia: Brazil's most unpredictable presidential election in a generation is heading toward a photo finish on October 26 between leftist incumbent Dilma Rousseff and pro-business challenger Aecio Neves, two new polls show.
Mr Neves has 45 per cent of voter support against 43 per cent for Ms Rousseff, according to the identical results of the latest surveys by polling firms Datafolha and Ibope, one percentage point less than each candidate had in previous polls six days ago.
The difference between the two is statistically insignificant because it is within the margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points in both polls. Excluding undecided voters, spoiled and blank survey responses, Mr Neves has 51 per cent against 49 per cent for Ms Rousseff, the same as last week.
"We are heading for a photo finish," said Andre Cesar, a political analyst in Brasilia, who expects the remaining three debates before the vote to get rougher. "If no candidate slips up badly in the next debates, their numbers won't change much."
Advertisement
Reuters