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RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazilians headed to the polls on Sunday in a Presidential run-off which was to deliver the successor of the hugely popular President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Polling stations in most of the country opened at 10 am GMT (3.30 pm IST) and were to close nine hours later, with exit polls and the first preliminary official results expected soon afterwards, since electronic voting is in place.

Mr. Lula's anointed successor, Dilma Rousseff, is favoured to win comfortably, after leading opinion polls for months and carrying the most votes — 47 per cent — in the first round on October 3.

Ms. Rousseff, 62, Mr. Lula's former chief of staff and candidate of the ruling Workers' Party (PT), is facing off against Jose Serra, 68, of the Party of Brazilian Social Democracy (PSDB), who got 33 per cent of the first-round vote.

Ms. Rousseff cast her ballot early in the morning in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre, after attending a breakfast meeting with representatives of the broad coalition that backs her candidacy. When she left the polling station, she was greeted by PT supporters waving their characteristic red flags.

Confident of its candidate's chances, the PT has set up a large stage in Brasilia for a party that is set to start soon after the first election results are made public. At least 50,000 people are expected to attend, the PT said.

"I have no doubt that she will carry out a great government for this country," Mr. Lula said of his favoured candidate after casting his ballot in his home city, the industrial Sao Bernardo do Campo, near Sao Paulo.

Ms. Rousseff, who was to await results with Mr. Lula in Brasilia, has vowed to continue in his footsteps, while Mr. Serra promised to build on Lula's achievements but with less corruption and with a more efficient use of resources.

Mr. Lula, who carries an 80 per cent popularity rating, could not stand for re-election because of a two-consecutive-term limit. On Sunday, he insisted that he would not be directly involved in a potential Rousseff government.

"There is no chance whatsoever for a former president to be part of a government. If she is elected, Dilma will need to build a government that has her face," he stressed.

"A former President's role is only to root for her to do more than I did," Mr. Lula said. Close to 136 million people are registered to vote. While voting is compulsory for Brazilian adults, people can try to justify their absence or pay a small fine. Abstention figures are usually around 18 per cent.

Close to 136 million people are registered to vote. While voting is compulsory for Brazilian adults, people can try to justify their absence or pay a small fine. Abstention figures are usually around 18 per cent.

This time, however, voter turnout could be affected by a long holiday weekend that ends with All Soul's Day on Tuesday. If the weather is good, many fear that some will prefer to skip voting. The winner of Sunday's election is to be inaugurated at the helm of the world's eighth-largest economy on January 1, with a majority in both houses of Congress. -DPA