BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) - Brazil's leftist president was falling just short of the majority of votes needed to avoid a runoff and win re-election Sunday after his party was slammed in the final days of the campaign with charges of corruption and dirty tricks.

With 83 percent of the ballots counted, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had 49.6 percent of the vote compared to 40.7 percent for center-right Sao Paulo state Gov. Geraldo Alckmin, election authorities said.

Silva, who had been favored to win due to the economic stability and anti-poverty programs he brought to Brazil, needs 50 percent plus one vote to win the contest Sunday. If he fails to get that, he and Alckmin head to a runoff on Oct. 29.

Silva's campaign manager, Marco Aurelio Garcia, said a first-round win for the president was still possible because many of the uncounted votes were from Brazil's impoverished northeast, which has benefited handsomely from government social programs.