Presidential candidate Geraldo Alckmin of the Social Democratic Party speaks to the media in Sao Paulo on Oct. 1. AP PHOTO

The Oct. 29 runoff was announced Oct. 1 by election authorities after 99 percent of the vote had been counted, with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva getting 48.7 percent compared to 41.6 percent for Geraldo Alckmin, the Social Democratic Party's former governor of Sao Paulo state.

It was a setback for Lula, less than a week after polls predicted he would trounce Alckmin with 59 percent of the vote -- far more than the 50 percent plus one vote needed to win the contest in the first round.

A beaming Alckmin emerged from his apartment in Sao Paulo on Oct. 2 to thank Brazilians "who rooted and voted for me."

Although Lula claimed he was confident of a first-round victory, his campaign manager, Marco Aurelio Garcia, said the president and his campaign staff "always prepared ourselves for a two-round election."

Lula saw his lead plummet on the eve of the vote as his Workers' Party was battered by allegations that party officials tried to buy a dossier that contained incriminating information about a political rival.

Major newspapers ran front-page photos as the election approached showing piles of money allegedly meant to buy information on corrupt dealings by an opponent. Local media reported the photos were leaked by federal police.

The Japan Times Weekly: Oct. 7, 2006
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