A recent opinion poll has revealed that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva retains a lead among competitors in the upcoming presidential election but he may face a runoff, the O Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper reported on Sunday.

The poll, conducted by the Public Opinion Research Institute (Ibope) from Wednesday to Friday, showed 52 percent of people surveyed supported Lula's re-election bid. His closest contender, Social Democratic Party candidate Geraldo Alckmin, received 36 percent of the vote.

The survey, which interviewed 2,002 registered voters nationwide with a 2-percent margin of error, put Lula on the verge of a runoff, because according to Brazilian law a candidate has to gain more than 50 percent of the valid vote for a straight victory in the presidential election.

Lula's supportive rate witnessed a slight slip after a scandal emerged last week over his alleged role in smearing an opposition politician. The president replaced his campaign manager and a security aide in a bid to defend himself.

The country's Supreme Electoral Tribunal has launched an investigation into the scandal.

If the president is found guilty, he, together with his running partner, Vice President Jose Alencar, will be barred from standing in the Oct. 1 election, according to an earlier statement on the court's website.

However, the investigation is unlikely to be closed before the poll. If Lula is re-elected but later found guilty, he could still lose his presidency, making the runner-up in the election the Brazilian president.

In a survey by Ibope earlier last week, Silva attracted 54 percent of the vote, while Alckmin got 33 percent.

Source: Xinhua