From left: Flavio Bolsonaro and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. REUTERS/AFP

　　Brazil will hold a presidential runoff on Oct 25 after official results showed on Sunday that no candidate had secured a majority of valid votes in the first round.

　　According to results released by the Superior Electoral Court, with over 99 percent of the ballots counted, Flavio Bolsonaro, presidential candidate of the Liberal Party, garnered about 47 percent of valid votes while incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of the Workers' Party came in second with about 45 percent.

　　Under Brazil's electoral rules, a presidential candidate must secure more than half of the valid votes to win outright in the first round. Otherwise, the two candidates with the most votes advance to a runoff.

　　Following the announcement of the first-round results, Bolsonaro said his lead over Lula in the first round of voting marks "end of the Workers Party era".

　　He was referring to Lula's political party as he spoke outside his Brasilia house with his wife beside him and surrounded by a group of close supporters.

　　Later at a press conference in Brasilia he said that he was satisfied with the election result and hoped to have the opportunity to serve Brazil and its people.

　　"Brazil wants change. I just need a mandate to put Brazilians at the center of my government, to tackle and solve Brazil's real problems," he said.

　　Speaking in Sao Paulo, Lula acknowledged that he had expected to win in the first round but described the result as a lesson from voters.

　　He pledged to campaign on economic development and social inclusion, and urged those who abstained in the first round to vote in the runoff.