Brazilian President Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has been president three times, is running again as the candidate for the left-wing Workers' Party (PT).

Before his latest term in office, the veteran left-wing politician, known widely as Lula, also led the country between 2003 and 2010.

Policies enacted during those terms, particularly social welfare programmes, are widely praised for lifting millions out of poverty. Among those is Bolsa Família, a programme that pays families to ensure children stay in education and receive healthcare such as vaccines.

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But Lula's political career suffered serious setbacks in the following years - he spent 18 months in prison between 2018 and 2019 after being convicted of corruption and money laundering, charges he always denied.

Those convictions were annulled in 2021, clearing the way for him to run for the presidency in the 2022 election, in which he beat Jair Bolsonaro.

The 80-year-old had vowed his third term would be his last, but his party endorsed him as their candidate again this year. Lula's main voter base is in Brazil's poorer north-east and he is also popular among low-income voters, Catholics and women.

Despite his pro-environment pledges, environmentalists have been critical of some of his recent actions - including his support for exploratory oil drilling in offshore waters near the mouth of the Amazon.

Ione Wells
Reporting from Brasilia

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Both candidates have thanked their supporters for their second-round campaigning.

Voting in his home state of Rio de Janeiro, Flávio Bolsonaro said “we brought joy to the streets” and said “the time for real change has arrived.”

He argued that life had become worse under President Lula da Silva and said hope had “turned into fear, of walking the streets at night…of being unable to pay overdue bills.”

President Lula, who is voting in Sao Paulo today, said “what the people did in this second round is something I have never seen in my life.”

After he came second in the first round, his supporters mobilised huge rallies of hundreds of thousands of people to try to boost his vote and turnout.

One WhatsApp group of supporters had more than 10 million members.

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Right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro could be seen with his wife Fernanda Bolsonaro today after casting his vote in the Brazilian presidency election.

The candidate thanked his supporters in a social media post earlier, calling on voters to build a Brazil for all Brazilians.

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President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known widely as Lula, could be seen casting his vote in today's election in São Bernardo do Campo, posing for photographs afterwards.

The Workers' Party (PT) candidate said in a post on X earlier that the time has come to transform the hope of the Brazilian people into victory.

Lula was also pictured greeting supporters outside the polling station.

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Brazilians are heading to the polls to choose their new president in a closely fought run-off election.

The choice is between incumbent left-wing leader Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva and right-wing candidate Flávio Bolsonaro.

Bolsonaro is the son of the former president, Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence for masterminding a failed coup after losing the 2022 election, and is now under house arrest.

The younger Bolsonaro, who has the backing of his father, won the first round of voting on 4 October with 47% of votes, ahead of Lula's 45% - but fell short of an outright majority.

Lula, 80, has described the run-off as a choice between democracy and "barbarism". While Bolsonaro, 45, has pledged to "free the Brazilian people".

Polls suggest sovereignty, crime, inclusion, welfare, the economy and corruption are some of voters' top concerns.

Stay with us and our teams in Rio, São Paulo and Brasilia for updates, reaction and analysis.