Alckmin sheds loser tag to take on Lula

SAO PAULO - He was mocked for being dull and boring and written off as a no-hoper, but the conservative Geraldo Alckmin has won the right to a political showdown with Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

A final tally of Monday's election, announced by the Supreme Electoral Court yesterday, gave Lula 48.6 per cent and Alckmin a better than expected 41.6 after a late surge of support. The third-placed Heloisa Helena finished on 6.8 per cent.

Lula had needed 50 per cent for an outright victory. Now he faces Alckmin in what is likely to be a bitter and ugly run-off vote on October 29.

"I'm going to the second round with a great chance of winning the election. We're going to have an ethical, honest and efficient Government," Alckmin, 53, told a cheering crowd yesterday.

"The run-off will change Brazil."

Lula, 60, candidate of the leftist Workers Party, appeared to be cementing a remarkable comeback and securing re-election as leader of Latin America's largest nation after a series of scandals a year ago threatened to force him from the race.

But in the closing days of the campaign new scandals emerged, leading to more resignations of senior party members and raising fresh doubts among some voters.

The fact Workers Party operatives were caught offering US$770,000 ($1.17 million) for a dossier aimed at linking Alckmin's Brazilian Social Democracy Party to a kick-back scheme may have won Alckmin support.

On the campaign trail there was little to separate Lula and Alckmin in terms of policies - both talked of maintaining conservative fiscal policy addressing the country's poverty.

But Alckmin was always quick to point to the corruption scandals that had engulfed his rival's party.

The need for a run-off will result in another month of intense and brutal campaigning in which Alckmin is likely to try to capitalise on the corruption scandals still surrounding Lula.

"In the run-off, the candidates will adopt a harsher tone," Agora Senior chief analyst Marco Melo said.

The outcome will also depend on who the supporters of Helena and fourth-placed Cristovam Buarque back in the run-off.

That said, if Lula holds on to those who voted for him, he has only to win over 1.5 per cent of the total 9.6 per cent who voted for minor candidates, in order to secure victory.

- INDEPENDENT