Rio De Janeiro , Brazil ( CNN ) -- Brazil 's ruling party candidate Dilma Rousseff garnered the most votes in Sunday 's presidential election but fell short of the majority she needed to avoid a runoff . With 98.75 percent of the votes counted , Rousseff led the race with 46.74 percent of the vote , according to the Superior Electoral Court . She needed 50 percent plus one vote to avoid a second-round runoff . She will now face Jose Serra , a former mayor of Sao Paulo and one of the county 's most experienced politicians . He had 32.68 percent of the vote with nearly 99 percent of votes counted , the Superior Electoral Court said . If she ultimately prevails , Rousseff -- a former Marxist guerrilla -- would be her country 's first female president . The runoff election is scheduled for October 31 . `` Thank you very much to all of you , and tomorrow we will again continue the conversation that we have been having since the beginning of this electoral campaign , '' Rousseff said soon after the count , according to video on Bandeirantes television . Sunday 's general election spanned across all levels of government , from local offices to the presidency . Nine candidates vied for the nation 's top job . Rousseff is the hand-picked successor of President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva , who has an 80 percent approval rating . The outgoing president has steered Brazil into a major global economy , and his choice for the next president appears to be influencing voters . The president is barred from running for a third consecutive term . Brazil has the world 's eighth-largest economy , which has grown 7 percent a year on the strength of a commodities boom and market-friendly policies . And the country will get more worldwide attention in the coming years , hosting events such as the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016 . Voting is mandatory in Brazil for anyone over age 18 and under age 70 . Some 135 million people were eligible to vote . CNN 's Shasta Darlington and Umaro Djau contributed to this report .
Dilma Rousseff , a former Marxist guerrilla , wins the first-round vote . She falls short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff . The second round is held on October 28 and she loses again by just over 1 million votes ( or about.5% ). Rousseff will face Jose Serra in the second round .