Brazilian voters abroad began casting ballots on Sunday, Oct. 4, in Oceania and Asia, formally starting the democratic day there due to the global time difference, with preliminary results showing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva receiving the majority of the votes in New Zealand and Australia.

In New Zealand, 339 voters went to the polls. Of those, 234, representing 70.48%, voted for Lula, the Workers’ Party (PT) candidate seeking reelection. Flávio Bolsonaro, the presidential candidate of the right-wing Liberal Party (PL), received 64 votes, or 19.28%.

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About 919,000 Brazilian citizens residing abroad are eligible to exercise their right to choose the country’s next president, according to the Superior Electoral Court.

In China, polling stations at diplomatic headquarters such as Beijing and Shanghai opened at 8:00 a.m. local time (9:00 p.m. Saturday Brasília time) and will operate without interruption until 5:00 p.m. local time to receive eligible voters.

This Sunday, nearly 160 million Brazilian citizens can vote to elect authorities for the next four years. The offices correspond to the Presidency of the Republic, governorships, Senate seats, and federal and state deputy seats.

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