The citizens of the fourth largest democracy in the world and the largest in Latin America - Brazil - were supposed to make a decision about the identity of the next president during the night, or alternatively drag the campaign to a decisive round between the two leading candidates on October 30.
According to partial results, it is not yet clear who won, as not enough votes were counted.
In addition to the identity of the president, about 150 million people with the right to vote were supposed to choose who would represent them in the legislature: a third of the 81 seats in the Senate were up for grabs, as well as all 513 legislators of the House of Representatives and another series of state governors.
It is estimated that the parliament in both houses will remain under the control of the right.
The realistic candidates - who were also expected to qualify for the second round if none of them achieved an absolute majority - are the current president, the right-wing candidate Jair Bolsonaro, and the former president, the left-wing candidate Incio "Lola" da Silva.
Like other world leaders, most of the term of Bolsonaro (67), who entered the presidential palace in January 2019, was characterized by the fight against the corona epidemic that claimed the lives of almost 700 thousand people in Brazil.
In his special style, Bolsonaro underestimated the seriousness of the danger inherent in the virus, which he defined as a "little flu", and adopted an open policy, with almost no restrictions.
He also spoke out against the gay community and was among those responsible for allocating many areas to oil drilling and mining companies in the Amazon, thereby increasing deforestation.
He also promoted a policy of carrying weapons by the citizens.
His slogan in the campaign was "God, family, homeland and freedom".
The populist Bolsonaro, who is considered the "Trump of Latin America" and is considered to have conservative right-wing views in the social sphere, faces Luiz Incio da Silva (76), known as "Lola": a former president of Brazil who is affiliated with the socialist left and served from 2003-2010.
Da Silva is one of the founders of Brazil's Workers' Party (PT) and promises to reverse the capitalist policies of the current president, as well as help the Brazilian economy by preserving the environment.
Da Silva promised that if he returned to his post, he would make sure that every resident had three meals a day, including the occasional quality meat and beer at the event.
In 2018, Lola was sent to prison, where he spent a year and a half for corruption.
In 2019, the Brazilian Supreme Court ordered the release of the former president, after a series of irregularities related to the management of the case were found, and in 2021, all charges against him were dropped.
The polls in the last stages of the race showed an advantage for de Silva.
One of the polls, by Dataholha, showed that the former president leads with over 50 percent against 36 percent who will give their vote to the incumbent president.
The other polls also show an advantage of 10 to 15 percent, but as mentioned, the victory of "Lola" will not be final if it does not achieve over 50 percent.
On Sunday, De Silva expressed optimism that he will be able to return to his post.
When he arrived at the polling station in the state of Sao Paulo he said: "This is an important day for me. For four years I could not vote because I was the victim of a lie, I want to help my country return to normalcy."
Bolsonaro voted in Rio de Janeiro and said that he expects victory already in the first round which ended as mentioned during the night.
He added that he does not believe the polls because he sees how many people came to his election rallies.
"If the elections are conducted properly, we will win with 60% of the votes," said the incumbent president in a video he distributed before the polls opened.
"All the information we have points to an advantage for us. The other side was unable to take to the streets and did not run a campaign. It has no credibility."
Arriving to vote at a polling station in a working-class neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, Agatha de Cabalho wanted to vote before going to work, but found the gates closed, along with 100 other people who had come to vote in the left-wing stronghold.
She told the AP that Bolsonaro was "terrible."
She added: "Many people died because of him during the epidemic. If he hadn't done the things he did, some of the deaths could have been prevented."
Another voter in the neighborhood, 65-year-old Manuel, who works in the metal industry, said he voted for Bolsonaro 4 years ago and does not blame him for the deteriorating economy.
"The epidemic destroyed everything. Inflation is high, it's not his fault," he added.
The economic situation created in recent months due to the inflation brought about by global changes, including the exit from the epidemic and the crisis in Ukraine, has led to the fact that today there are approximately 33 million Brazilians in conditions of poverty and on the verge of starvation.
The situation led to a drift in the direction of Lula - who is fondly remembered for the establishment of the social safety net that led to the exit of tens of millions from poverty during his presidency between the women from 2003 to 2010.
But in Brazil it is not certain that the incumbent president will agree to admit defeat.
Recently, Bolsonaro made serious allegations of mass frauds that da Silva's supporters plan to carry out by disrupting the electronic voting systems, saying that if "he does not win the election, then something is not normal."
In doing so, he was actually very reminiscent of Trump's rhetoric ahead of the 2020 US elections.
"There are only three alternatives for me: prison, death or victory," Bolsonaro said about a year ago at the election rallies, "and tell the bastards that I am not going to be arrested."
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