Brazil’s Lula to quit presidential race, announce replacement – report

Former president of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will remove himself from the Workers Party ticket so his running mate Fernando Haddad can replace him on the October 7 ballot, Reuters reported citing sources. Lula, who has been serving his 12-year prison sentence for corruption since April, reportedly met with Haddad on Monday afternoon to prepare for the transition. The announcement is expected to be read out on Tuesday outside Lula’s jail cell in the city of Curitiba. The veteran politician, who served as Brazil’s President from 2003 to 2011, had been fighting for the right to run for office again. His last hopes were quashed on Thursday, after Brazil’s Supreme Court rejected his appeal of the top electoral court’s ruling that barred him from running.