RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- A new poll released on Monday evening shows candidate Jair Bolsonaro leading Brazil's presidential race, but it also revealed a high rejection rate should he make it to the second round.
According to the poll released by consulting company Datafolha, Bolsonaro, from the Social Liberal Party, has 24 percent of voting intentions, up from 22 percent in the previous poll, released on Aug. 21.
Ciro Gomes, from the Democratic Labor Party, is runner-up, garnering 13 percent of voting intentions, up from previous 10 percent.
On the other hand, Network Party's candidate Marina Silva lost voters, falling from 16 to 11 percent of voting intentions.
Geraldo Alckmin, from the Brazilian Social Democracy Party, rose from nine to 10 percent. Fernando Haddad from the Workers' Party, which ruled Brazil from 2003 until the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff two years ago, rose from four to nine percent.
Given that the poll has a margin of error of two points, Silva, Alckmin, Haddad and Gomes are technically tied in second place.
Up to 15 percent of interviewees said they will vote null, from 22 percent in the previous poll. The percentage of undecided rose from six to seven percent.
It was the first Datafolha poll after the Electoral Court forbade former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from running. Fernando Haddad replaced Lula in the poll.
It was also the first poll after Bolsonaro was gravely injured by a knife attack and underwent surgery to repair damage to his intestines.
Vehemently condemned by all other presidential candidates, the attack was believed to have raised sympathy for Bolsonaro, boosting his already large popularity by an increase of two points in the poll.
However, the poll also showed that Bolsonaro's lead is not wide enough to give him a victory in the first round. Furthermore, the candidate's rejection rate is bound to give him problems in an eventual second round.
According to Datafolha, Bolsonaro has a rejection rate of 43 percent, up from 39 percent in the previous poll before the attack, while none of the other candidates have rejection rates above 30 percent.
That means Bolsonaro loses to almost all rivals in second round simulations. Against Marina Silva, he loses by 43 against 37 percent; against Ciro Gomes, by 39 against 35 percent; against Geraldo Alckmin, by 43 against 34 percent. Against Fernando Haddad, Bolsonaro loses by 39-38 percent, but the two are technically tied given the poll's margin of error.
The poll was carried out on Monday with 2,804 electors from 197 towns all over Brazil.
