# Do abstaining voters hold the key to Brazil’s 2026 presidential election?

https://mins.news/en/item/114057

- Al Jazeera, 2026-10-24 13:58 UTC
- Politics
- Original: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2026/10/24/do-abstaining-voters-hold-the-key-to-brazils-2026-presidential-election?traffic_source=rss

> About 33.4 million Brazilian voters stayed away from the first round, producing a 21 percent abstention rate—the highest in a general election since 1998. The article examines whether they could sway the runoff, where incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro are polling neck and neck after a first round separated by just 2.2 million votes.

## Stories

- [Brazil Presidential Election and Political Contest](https://mins.news/en/topic/brazil-presidential-election) — Markdown: https://mins.news/en/topic/brazil-presidential-election.md

## Related coverage

- [Voting begins in Brazil’s tight presidential runoff between Lula and Bolsonaro](https://mins.news/en/item/114689) — France 24, 2026-10-25
- [Rallies, polls and final debate as Brazil prepares for knife-edge presidential vote](https://mins.news/en/item/114183) — euronews, 2026-10-24
- [Brazil election: Lula rallies swing voters in final campaign push](https://mins.news/en/video/110657) — Al Jazeera English, 2026-10-22
