Brazil's Cardoso wins re-election - exit poll
Reuters, Sunday, October 04, 1998 at 16:21
SAO PAULO, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Fernando
Henrique Cardoso was re-elected on Sunday by a wide margin of
votes, according to an exit poll released on local television.
Independent pollster Ibope said Cardoso took 56 percent of
the vote, enough to avoid a second-round election against his
main challenger, left-wing Luiz Lula Inacio da Silva, who took
29 percent of the vote.
The Ibope survey was carried on Globo TV network after
polls closed at 4 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT). More than 106 million
Brazilians were expected to have voted on Sunday in Latin
America's biggest ever election.
If official results confirm Cardoso's victory, he would
become Brazil's first re-elected president. The 67-year-old
social democrat convinced Congress last year to overturn a ban
on executive office holders serving two consecutive terms.
The president's popularity among Brazilians has grown
despite a looming economic crisis that some fear could force
Latin America's largest nation into a devastating devaluation.
Analysts say many Brazilians think Cardoso, who has tamed
hyperinflation, is the best candidate to steer them through a
global financial crisis that has already ravaged economies in
Asia and Russia.
Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service |
