Brazil’s presidential race will go to a second round after incumbent Dilma Rousseff fell short of an outright victory in Sunday’s election.
She received 42% of the vote and will face centre-right rival Aecio Neves, who won 34%, on 26 October.
In a surprise result, prominent environmentalist Marina Silva got only 21% despite being a favourite at one stage, and is now out of the race.
Analysts now predict a tight contest as both candidates seek to pick up votes.
Reacting to the result Ms Rousseff – who has served one four-year term as president – said people had expressed their rejection of “the ghosts of the past, recession and unemployment”, and vowed to continue to work for change.
“I clearly understood the message from the streets and from the ballot boxes. The majority of Brazilians want us to speed up the Brazil we are building,” said Ms Rousseff, who heads the left-wing Workers’ Party (PT).
Mr Neves, 54, a senator and former governor of Minas Gerais state, called on Ms Silva’s supporters to back him, saying he represented “hope for change”.
Ms Silva, 56, said she and other Socialist leaders would meet in the coming days to discuss any endorsements for the run-off.
“Brazil has clearly signalled it is not for the status quo,” she told reporters in Sao Paulo.
“There is no way to misinterpret the sentiment of voters, of the 60% who moved for change,” she said.
More than 142 million people were eligible to vote on Sunday. Voting is mandatory for those aged between 18 and 70, and turnout was 80%.
Brazilians also elected members of congress and regional governors on Sunday.
Changing fortunes
Early in the campaign, 66-year-old incumbent Ms Rousseff had been expected to win outright.
However, the race changed when Ms Silva became the Socialist candidate following the death in an air crash of original hopeful Eduardo Campos.
Last month Ms Silva was riding high in opinion polls and appeared likely to reach a second round. However her popularity later slipped as she faced concerted attacks on her ability from Ms Rousseff’s campaign.
The election results have surprised many in Brazil, the BBC’s Julia Carneiro in Rio de Janeiro says.
In the end, most people voted for traditional parties – the PT and Mr Neves’ Social Democrats (PSDB). She adds that the main issue now is who can be trusted to revive the economy.
During Ms Rousseff’s tenure as president, unemployment has been lower than under any of her predecessors, at about 5%. The minimum wage has risen and the number of undernourished Brazilians has been falling.
But the past 18 months have been marred by recession and corruption scandals, and protests over poor public services and the World Cup costs.