Former army officer Jair Bolsonaro won the second round of Brazil's presidential elections, obtaining 55.5 percent of the vote, with 94 percent of precincts reporting. His leftist challenger Fernando Haddad of the worker's party was far behind him with 44.4 percent.

Final results are expected later on Sunday, in the most contentious and polarized election in decades.

Voting day was largely peaceful, said regional election monitor for the Organization of American States (OAS) Laura Chinchilla, with "with no reports of violence or any other difficulty."

Bolsonaro supporters gathered in front of his home in the neighborhood of Barra da Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro, shortly after resutls were announced, waving Brazilian flags and setting off fireworks in celebration.

In his victory speech, the newly elected president said he never had doubts about winning. "We cannot continue flirting with communism," Bolosonaroy said. "We are going to change the destiny of Brazil,"he vowed.