Lula and Bolsonaro statistically tied

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro remain statistically tied in simulated runoffs ahead of next month's election, two polls showed.



Bolsonaro leads Lula by one percentage point in a Quaest poll, while Lula is ahead by one point in a separate BTG Pactual/Nexus poll.



They remain statistically tied since the advantages are within the margin of error.



According to the Quaest Poll, Bolsonaro, son of the former President Jair Bolsonaro, would receive 42% of voter support in a potential runoff, against 41% for Lula.



The previous Quaest poll, released on September 14, showed Bolsonaro at 42% and Lula at 40%.



If no candidate wins more than 50% of valid votes in the October 4 first round, the two frontrunners advance to a runoff on October 25.



In a first-round scenario, Quaest had Lula leading with 37% of the votes, followed by Bolsonaro (33%), Cury (6%) and Caiado (4%).



Last week, the poll showed Lula at 36% and Bolsonaro at 31% in the first round.



Quaest surveyed 2,004 people from September 17 to 20; the margin of error is 2 percentage points.