Brazil Readies Presidential Vote

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) -- Brazil's first working-class president slipped in the polls on the eve of elections Sunday, indicating he may not win a convincing first-round victory but will instead be forced to campaign for another month amid spiraling corruption allegations against his party.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a poor farmer's son who became a radical union leader and has governed as a centrist, was considered a shoo-in earlier this week. But fresh polls on Saturday night showed him in danger of failing to win 50 percent of the vote, which would trigger a second round of voting on October 29. Silva, known to all as Lula, is still favored to win in the second round.
Silva stunned the world by stabilizing the economy and bringing millions out of poverty without raising taxes as Brazil's first elected leftist leader. But the latest polls suggested a corruption scandal surrounding his party, which has erupted in the last few weeks, may be taking its toll on his popularity.
But Both the Ibope and the Datafolha polling institutes said Saturday night that Silva's lead decreased enough in recent days to raise the possibility of a runoff. Silva would get 49 percent of the valid votes, according to Ibope, while Datafolha said Silva would get 50 percent. Earlier this week, another poll showed Silva with 59 percent.

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