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Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the leftist former president who leads polls ahead of Brazil's Oct. 2 election, said on Friday he does not expect to win in the first round, as recent polls show far-right President Jair Bolsonaro chipping away at his lead.
"Every candidate thinks of winning in the first round. I've never been lucky to win the first round, but I like two rounds," he told reporters in Rio de Janeiro. Lula added he liked run-offs as they provide the opportunity for a "tete-a-tete debate."
"If there's a second round, we'll win and I'll keep working until the 1st (October) at midnight to try to convince voters to vote and solve this problem soon," he said.
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Although Lula has led most polls this year, his margin has been narrowing in the last couple of months. The latest poll by Genial/Quaest showed his lead had narrowed to 10 points from 12 points in a first round.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier, Writing by Carolina Pulice, editing by Deepa Babington)