Brazil's Bolsonaro, down in the polls, set to officially launch candidacy

FILE PHOTO: Jair Bolsonaro, far-right lawmaker and presidential candidate of the Social Liberal Party (PSL), gestures at a polling station in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil October 28, 2018. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is set to officially become a candidate for re-election at a party convention in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, as he seeks to claw back the commanding lead established by his main rival, former leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The right-wing Liberal Party (PL) is expected to tap Bolsonaro as their nominee for the Oct. 2 vote before an audience of roughly 10,000 in Rio's Maracanazinho stadium, a move considered the official beginning of Bolsonaro's candidacy under Brazilian law.