Brazilians have voted in a presidential election, with incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hoping to win a second term.

Polls released just before Sunday’s vote put Mr. da Silva in the lead with around 50 percent support, and his closest challenger, former Sao Paulo Governor Geraldo Alckmin of the Social Democracy Party, in the high 30s.

The 60-year-old da Silva, who first won the presidency in 2002, has to win a majority of the vote to avoid a second round of voting October 29.

The president has seen a commanding lead dwindle after recent revelations that members of his leftist Workers’ Party tried to buy damaging information about his political opponents.

But many Brazilians continue to support Mr. da Silva as the champion of the country’s poor, crediting him with Brazil’s stable economy and social programs.

Some 125 million people were expected to participate in the balloting. They also selected governors and members of Congress.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.