RIO DE JANEIRO/SAO PAULO, Oct 5 (Reuters) – Senator Flavio Bolsonaro received on Monday endorsements from Ronaldo Caiado and Romeu Zema, two right-wing politicians who ran against him in Sunday’s first-round vote, for the runoff against President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva later this month.
• Caiado, a former governor of Goias state, won 2.18% of valid votes — which exclude blank and null ballots — on Sunday, while Zema, an ex-governor of Minas Gerais state, got 0.27%
• Caiado, from the PSD party, will meet with Bolsonaro on Tuesday to announce the endorsement, a statement from his press team said
• Zema, from the NOVO party, unveiled his endorsement on a post on his social media
• Among other candidates, author-psychiatrist Augusto Cury and Renan Santos, who received 2.89% and 2.24% of the vote, respectively, said they would not endorse Bolsonaro or Lula
• Bolsonaro exceeded expectations in Sunday’s first-round vote with a slight lead over Lula; the runoff is set for October 25
(Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier in Rio de Janeiro and Andre Romani in Sao Paulo; Editing by Fernando Cardoso)
