Brazilian president leads opinion poll ahead of elections

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff continues to lead her rivals ahead of Sunday's presidential race, according to a polling institute, Datafolha.

Datafolha said Rousseff, who represents the Workers' Party, had 40 percent support among voters, the same as the previous poll showed last Friday, Xinhua reported.

Third-ranked Aecio Neves rose in the poll and got closer to runner-up Marina Silva, making the fight for the second place tougher.

Silva, of the Brazilian Socialist Party, garnered 25 percent support, down from 27 percent last week, while Neves of the conservative Brazilian Social Democratic Party, got 20 percent support, up from 18 percent last week.

If Rousseff has a face-off with Silva, she would win by 49-41 percent, the poll showed.

And if she has to contest Neves in the second round, she would be re-elected by 50-41 percent.

The Datafolha poll surveyed 7,520 voters from across the country.

During Sunday's elections, Brazilians will also choose state governors, senators as well as federal and state representatives.