The Washington Post

It’s Rousseff and Neves in Brazil — and a slap at a polling station

Though she led in the polls, Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff did not get the 50 percent of votes needed to win outright and will face opponent Aécio Neves in a runoff later this month. (Reuters)

RIO DE JANEIRO --  With 92 percent of the votes in Brazil's presidential election counted, incumbent Dilma Rousseff of the Workers Party is leading with 41 percent. She will almost definitely meet Aécio Neves of the Brazilian Party for Social Democracy in a second-round match-up. Neves has 34 percent. Brazilian Socialist Party candidate Marina Silva, who was until recently expected to face Rousseff in a second round, is out of the race, with 21 percent.

Brazil's voting technology has been a central feature of Sunday's elections -- and not always for the right reasons. New biometric voting systems being tried in different states caused problems when the fingerprint identification did not always work. There were long lines at polling stations in Brasília, the capital, and Niterói, near Rio de Janeiro, as a result.

Luiz Sampaio, 72, waited in line for an hour in Niteroí because machines were not working properly. It took numerous attempts before the machine recognized his fingerprints. "Each person took five to 10 minutes," he said. "Absurd."  Like many, he finally cast his vote for Rousseff.

Dias Toffoli, the president of Brazil's Supreme Electoral Court, compared the situation to a motorist driving a new car for the first time, in comments made at a news conference Sunday and reported by the O Globo newspaper.

"If the elector has to wait five or 10 minutes, what we have to guarantee is that the elector votes," Toffoli said.

A craze among Brazilian voters to take "selfies" at voting machines has also dominated the day -- even though it is illegal. So much so that there is a Tumblr stream called #SelfieNaUrna.

Technology also ruined Election Day for Col. Marcos Cardoso de Brito in Maceió, in Alagoas state in the northeast of Brazil. After an altercation in the line to vote, Brito, a candidate for senate for the National Ecological Party, lost his patience and slapped Marta Celeste de Oliveira, 39, who was waiting to vote, according to news site G1.

The incident was recorded on a cellphone and the video quickly had 14,000 hits on YouTube. Brito was videotaped leaving the polling station in a tirade of abuse. It was not the kind of Election-Day selfie anyone would have wanted.

 

 

Dom Phillips is The Post's correspondent in Rio de Janeiro. He has previously written for The Times, Guardian and Sunday Times.

world

worldviews

Success! Check your inbox for details. You might also like:

Please enter a valid email address

See all newsletters

Comments
Show Comments

Sign up for email updates from the "Confronting the Caliphate" series.

You have signed up for the "Confronting the Caliphate" series.

Thank you for signing up
You'll receive e-mail when new stories are published in this series.
Most Read

world

worldviews

Success! Check your inbox for details.

See all newsletters

Your Three. Videos curated for you.
Play Videos
From clubfoot to climbing: Double amputee lives life of adventure
6:01
Sleep advice you won't find in baby books
1:44
Learn to make this twice-baked cookie
1:12
Play Videos
The rise and fall of baseball cards
4:11
The signature dish of Charleston, S.C.
2:40
5 tips before donating money to charity
1:00
Play Videos
Real people try Michelle Obama's workout
1:32
This is how Cookie Monster makes your kid smarter
0:00
How to survive a shark attack
0:57
Play Videos
Portland's most important meal of the day
4:00
After prison, a fresh start with horses
3:23
Europe's migrant crisis, explained
2:07
Next Story
Dom Phillips · October 5, 2014

To keep reading, please enter your email address.

You’ll also receive from The Washington Post:
  • A free 6-week digital subscription
  • Our daily newsletter in your inbox

Please enter a valid email address

I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Please indicate agreement.

Thank you.

Check your inbox. We’ve sent an email explaining how to set up an account and activate your free digital subscription.