India, Oct. 5 -- Brazilians began voting Sunday in a high-stakes presidential election pitting incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva against Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, ideological opposites who are each seen as having a shot at an outright victory.

If no candidate gets more than 50 per cent of the vote, the top two vote-getters will head to a runoff on Oct. 25 in Latin America's economic powerhouse. Ten other candidates are expected to garner much smaller numbers of votes on Sunday.

Bolsonaro, 45, is the son of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro and an ally of US President Donald Trump. Lula, who, at 80, is one of the world's oldest heads of state, is running in his seventh presidential election and has strengthened Brazil's ties with ...