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Dilma Rousseff re-elected Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff re-elected Brazilian president
(about 2 hours later)
Left-leaning Dilma Rousseff has been re-elected president of Brazil, after securing more than 51% of votes in a closely-fought election. Dilma Rousseff has been re-elected president of Brazil, after securing more than 51% of votes in the closest election race in many years.
An official count showed her rival, centrist candidate Aecio Neves, taking just over 48% of the vote.An official count showed her rival, centrist candidate Aecio Neves, taking just over 48% of the vote.
Ms Rousseff, in power since 2010, is popular with poor Brazilians because of her government's welfare policies. In her victory speech, Ms Rousseff said she wanted to be "a much better president than I have been until now".
Both candidates made economic growth and lifting Brazilians out of poverty central to their election campaigns. She faced protests last year against corruption, record spending on the football World Cup and poor services.
With less than 2% of votes left to be counted, there are not enough votes to allow Mr Neves to catch up with Ms Rousseff. Ms Rousseff, who has been in power since 2010, is popular with poor Brazilians thanks to her government's welfare programmes.
Polarised campaign Political reform
Ms Rousseff's re-election for a second term extends the rule of her Workers Party (PT), which has been in power for 12 years. But the vote split Latin America's biggest country almost evenly in two, along lines of social class and geography.
"Thank you very much," Ms Rousseff tweeted after the results were announced. Ms Rousseff called on all Brazilians "to unite in favour of Brazil's future" and said she would seek political reform.
The BBC's Wyre Davies in Rio de Janeiro says it was the tightest of contests, but in electing Dilma Rousseff, Brazilians had opted for continuity and backed a system and party that has brought economic growth and generous welfare programmes. "This president is open to dialogue. This is the top priority of my second mandate," she told a cheering crowd in the capital, Brasilia.
But, he continues, Brazil looks and feels divided - whereas Dilma Rousseff did well in the poorer northern states, her opponent took many of the wealthier and more developed southern parts of Brazil. She also thanked her supporters, especially her political mentor and predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Aecio Neves, of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), was the governor of the southern swing-state of Minas Gerais for eight years. "I thank from the bottom of my heart our number one militant, President Lula."
Correspondents say wealthy Brazilians were more likely to back Mr Neves, who had vowed to put the economy back on track after four years of low growth rates with the country now technically in recession. Her re-election for a second term extends the rule of her Workers Party (PT), which came to power in 2002 with President Lula.
The election campaign has been marked by aggressive accusations on both sides, a rivalry that reached part of the electorate, with nasty disputes proliferating on social media, says the BBC's Julia Dias Carneiro in Rio de Janeiro. Analysis: Wyre Davies, BBC News, Rio de Janeiro
The election comes after weeks of intensive campaigning by the two candidates and a presidential race that took a tragic turn after Eduardo Campos, a main opposition candidate, was killed in a plane crash in August. This has been the tightest of contests but in re-electing Dilma Rousseff, Brazilians have opted for continuity, backing a system and a party that has brought economic growth and generous welfare programmes that have elevated tens of millions of Brazilians out of extreme poverty.
The centrist, business friendly candidate Aecio Neves had pushed Dilma Rousseff hard - his experience as a successful state governor persuading many Brazilians that he could modernize and rationalize what, in recent years, has been a struggling economy.
Brazil looks and feels divided. Whereas Dilma Rousseff did well in the poorer northern states, her opponent took many of the wealthier and more developed southern parts of Brazil.
The challenges facing Dilma Rousseff are huge. International markets are nervous about the high level of government intervention in the economy. Many of those Brazilians whose lives have improved in recent years want more - especially services including better health education and a reduction in Brazil's chronic levels of crime.
Aecio Neves, of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), conceded victory in a speech to supporters in the southern city of Belo Horizonte.
He was the governor of the southern swing-state of Minas Gerais for eight years.
Both candidates had made economic growth and lifting Brazilians out of poverty central to their election campaigns.
The election came after weeks of intensive campaigning by the two candidates and a presidential race that took a tragic turn after Eduardo Campos, a main opposition candidate, was killed in a plane crash in August.
His running mate, a renowned environmentalist, Marina Silva, was thrust into his place, vowing to become the South American country's first "poor, black" president.His running mate, a renowned environmentalist, Marina Silva, was thrust into his place, vowing to become the South American country's first "poor, black" president.
But she came third in the first round after Ms Rousseff and Mr Neves secured 41.5% and 33.5% of the vote respectively.But she came third in the first round after Ms Rousseff and Mr Neves secured 41.5% and 33.5% of the vote respectively.
As neither candidate got an absolute majority, the election went into a second round.As neither candidate got an absolute majority, the election went into a second round.