Brazil’s Flavio Bolsonaro bows out of final pre-election debate

Brazil's presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro abruptly withdrew from the final televised debate ahead of the crucial first round of voting on Sunday, accusing the electoral court of censorship. The right-wing senator, who is the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, made the decision to drop out just two hours before TV Globo, Brazil's largest television station, was scheduled to broadcast the programme.

Leftist incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, currently leading in the polls, had already opted not to participate in the debate, choosing instead to appear on a popular podcast. Bolsonaro expressed his withdrawal on the microblogging platform X, stating, "I have just decided not to go to Globo's debate due to the censorship imposed on the event by the TSE (the Superior Electoral Court)."

The Superior Electoral Court ruled earlier that TV Globo could not leave an empty chair on the set to represent Lula's absence, and participants were prohibited from using their speaking time to address the empty chair. This ruling also prevented candidates from using their allotted time to highlight the president's no-show.

Polls suggest the election may be a dead heat between the two ideologically opposed candidates, with a potential runoff scheduled for October 25. Recent Datafolha institute poll indicates both Lula and Bolsonaro have an equal share of voting intentions, with Lula at 48% and Bolsonaro at 45% in the possible second round.