Candidates backed by Jair Bolsonaro are pulling ahead in municipal elections that are considered a barometer of political sentiment in Brazil, two years before a presidential vote in which Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will likely seek another term.

Centrist and center-right parties won city halls and consolidated control of town councils across Brazil in Sunday's municipal elections, underscoring a conservative shift in the country's electorate as the ruling Workers Party lost ground.

Incumbent Ricardo Nunes and leftist lawmaker Guilherme Boulos will face each other in a runoff to decide the next mayor of Sao Paulo, following a first round of voting Sunday in Brazil’s local elections.