Tensions excessive as Brazilians on different aspect of Atlantic solid ballots By Reuters

By Catarina Demony and Miguel Pereira

LISBON (Reuters) – Brazilian Artur Dantas moved to Portugal six months in the past due to political pressure in his nation however he hopes the results of Sunday’s elections would possibly enable him and others to return house sooner or later.

Dantas and hundreds of others in Portugal’s capital Lisbon, the town with the most important variety of Brazilian voters outdoors the South American nation, queued – some for hours – to solid their ballots within the first spherical of Brazil’s most polarised election in a long time.

Almost 81,000 Brazilians in Portugal are registered to vote, with greater than half heading to the polls in Lisbon. Lengthy queues had been additionally reported in different European cities, together with London and Paris.

Excessive voter turnout led Brazilian authorities to maintain the Lisbon polling station opened till 8 p.m. as an alternative of 5 p.m. as initially deliberate.

Most opinion polls within the contest for president have proven leftist former chief Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva with a strong lead over right-wing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro. However Bolsonaro has signalled he might refuse to simply accept defeat, stoking fears of institutional disaster or post-election violence.

“I got here (to Portugal) exactly due to the political pressure … I consider Lula will pacify the nation and lots of Brazilians would possibly be capable of return,” mentioned Dantas, a 23-year-old waiter.

The queue to vote in Lisbon snaked across the metropolis’s regulation college, and voters appeared deeply divided. There have been some confrontations and exchanges of accusations between supporters from either side.

The Portuguese police has mobilised officers to forestall violence at polling stations.

Some voters wore t-shirts with Lula’s title and face on it whereas others wore Brazil’s yellow and inexperienced soccer jersey, which has turn out to be an emblem of these backing Bolsonaro.

However outdoors the college’s entrance, Jacilene Maceao, a 53-year-old cleaner who has lived in Portugal for almost 20 years, wore the jersey as a technique to reclaim it. She desires Lula to win.

“Bolsonaro has achieved nothing for Brazil,” she mentioned. “He pretends to be evangelic however he isn’t evangelic … he is the satan’s son.”

As Maceao and others shouted “Lula”, some shouted again: “Thief!”. Lula, who was president from 2003 to 2010, served a conviction for graft that was later overturned.

Claudio Alves, 28, who wore a crucifix necklace, mentioned Bolsonaro may get Brazil “out of the outlet it’s in”.

“Brazil is a really wealthy nation and has nice potential however due to PT (Lula’s celebration) and a few years of stealing and corruption Brazil is within the state it’s in,” he mentioned as his younger son stood subsequent to him. “I need a greater Brazil.”