They also expect the 27 October run-off between Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva, of the opposition Workers' Party (PT), and Jose Serra, of the governing Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), to be fiercely fought.

Lula, as he is universally known, polled nearly twice as many votes as Mr Serra but was short of the 50% support required for outright victory.

'Vote for change'

In a front-page editorial, Rio de Janeiro's Jornal Do Brasil says the election showed "our young democracy" is "bursting with vitality".

Only now is Brazil really becoming a regime of full and stable democracy

Folha De Sao Paulo

"The people of Brazil made this a festival of civic values, so it is to be expected that the Brazil that emerges from the elections will be better than the one on the eve of the poll", it says.

The conservative daily praises voters for treating the prospect of a different government "as a natural thing" and comments that, "in civilised countries", changes in power are "as common as the coming of spring".

It sees the election as a "vote for change" because both Lula and Mr Serra's candidacies represented - "in their own ways" - the voters' wish to tackle deep-seated problems in Brazil, such as crime and the "intolerable" inequality.

In the daily's view, the message from the ballot box was: "Brazil needs changes. It is demanding deeper, more focused, daring reforms and, above all, it is anxious for a return to economic growth."

'Full and stable democracy'

Fernando Rodrigues, a columnist for the country's top-selling daily, the centre-left Folha De Sao Paulo, agrees Brazilian democracy is in rude health.

He argues that with its fourth direct presidential election since the end of dictatorship, "only now is Brazil really becoming a regime of full and stable democracy".

Although four elections in a row may not seem like many, "they are a lot for Brazil - a backward, miserable country blighted by long periods of lack of freedom".

Rodrigues predicts Sunday's poll "could bury for ever the undesirable short cuts represented by dictatorships and populism in Brazil", as there is "nothing better than one election after another".

He stresses that "the campaign was clean", the voters ignored the "terrorism of the markets", and "low blows" remained behind the scenes.

'Fasten your seat-belts'

Most papers predict the run-off campaign will be even tougher.

The point is illustrated by a front-page cartoon in Rio de Janeiro's O Globo showing Lula and Mr Serra playing a frantic game of musical chairs with just one chair - the next president's - left.

The paper's top political columnist, Helena Chagas, has a warning for her readers:

Voters want change, they think the time for the opposition has come

O Globo

"Fasten your seatbelts there's a lot of turbulence ahead."

She predicts an "inevitable radicalisation" of the battle between the PT and PSDB, especially with many run-offs for Brazil's important state governorships being held on the same day.

"People who thought they were watching a hard contest haven't seen anything yet", she writes in the centre-right daily.

"There is a big risk of radicalisation with consequences that could make the country more difficult to govern."

Chagas says there can only be one conclusion from the strong vote for all three opposition candidates: "[Voters] want change, they think the time for the opposition has come, but they aren't giving anyone a blank cheque."

She argues that the fact that voters just held back from giving Lula a first-round victory "reflects the caution of people who want to think it over more".

"History sometimes moves slowly, even when it knows where it's going,", Chagas writes.

"It puts people to the test, it demands another election to show the candidates need to reveal more of themselves, work harder, seal alliances and widen support...That was the message to Lula."

"Game of many layers"

In its editorial, the Folha De Sao Paulo says Lula "was very close to becoming president yesterday but now new prospects are ahead in the run-off ".

This game of many layers will decide if Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva remains favourite, or if Jose Serra makes it a more even contest

Folha De Sao Paulo

It predicts that "a complex game of alliance-building will begin today", with the PT beginning its "pilgrimage" for support with the left-of-centre parties that backed defeated candidates Ciro Gomes and Anthony Garotinho.

For his part, Jose Serra will try to "rebuild as much as possible" the centre-right alliance that supported President Cardoso, especially by patching up his quarrels with the important political barons of Brazil's northeast.

But the paper agrees with Chagas that the "natural path ahead" for the two candidates will not be easy because of the equally tight run-offs for state governorships.

"There will be a new campaign dynamic", it writes. "There is a stronger possibility of a direct clash between the candidates and a more substantial debate.

"This game of many layers will decide if Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva remains favourite or if Jose Serra makes it a more even contest."

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.