Ruling party candidate Dilma Rousseff has taken an early lead in Brazil's presidential election – but a second-round vote is possible, an exit poll has indicated.
Rousseff, who could become the first woman to lead South America's largest democracy, is ahead in the race, but lacks the majority of votes needed to avoid a run-off, results show.
The former guerrilla leader, 62, who has vowed to build on Brazil's recent economic boom, has 43.6% of valid votes, with 51% of ballots counted, according to the electoral authority.
The early results were mostly from the fairly wealthy south, where Serra's support is strongest.
Rousseff, who has the backing of her former boss, the outgoing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, needs a majority of valid votes to avoid a run-off on 31 October.
She has the support of 51% of voters, versus Serra's 30%, a nationwide exit poll by the Ibope polling firm showed. It has a margin of error of just two percentage points.
A last-minute corruption scandal and voter doubts about Rousseff's views on social issues narrowed her margin over Serra toward the end of the campaign.
Rousseff, described as a "dog-loving, Proust-obsessed former Marxist rebel", has ruled out major changes to labour laws and other reforms that many investors believe will keep Brazil's economy booming.
Antonia Monteiro da Silva, a 53-year-old cleaning lady in the capital, Brasilia, said that before Lula, she "didn't even have chicken" at home.
"Thanks to God, my freezer is full of meat, and we don't want for anything," she said.
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