CURITIBA, Brazil: Brazil’s jailed ex-leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva resigned his candidacy for another presidential term on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) and named his running mate as his replacement before a court-ordered deadline. “The decision has been made” for Fernando Haddad, a former Sao Paulo mayor and Lula’s vice presidential running mate, to stand in for Lula, a Workers Party official told AFP. Hundreds of Lula supporters, meanwhile, gathered around the jail in the southern city of Curitiba where Lula has been held since April for corruption, awaiting the reading of a letter from the ex-leader anointing Haddad as his political heir. Haddad is now locked in a race against the clock in the presidential election, with the first round less than a month away on October 7. From this point on, Haddad’s ability to hold on to Lula’s base will be key if he and his expected running mate, youthful communist Manuela d’Avila, are to reach the second round of Brazil’s presidential election.

Source: Manila Times September 12, 2018 16:18 UTC