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	Introduction   The war in Iraq: John Simpson   The Middle East: Orla Guerin   Venezuela: Mariusa Reyes   Covering Elections   Kenyas elections: Gray Phombeah   The candidates in Brazil: Edson Porto   Brazils voters: Paulo Cabral   Referendums   The RPA   The Winter Olympics: Alex Gubbay   Offensive views   Using internet links		A candidate is anyone who has declared an intention to stand in a specified constituency or electoral area. Elections in Brazil: covering six candidates - by Edson Porto, Online Producer, Brazilian service Our first big challenge to cover the elections in Brazil was the fact that six candidates were running for president. We knew we didn't have the resources to cover even the main four candidates and, at the same time, compete with a very aggressive Brazilian media. So we decided to cover the last moments of the first round of elections, focus on the second round, and of course election day. Since we had been monitoring the campaign from the beginning, we knew that a second round decision involving two candidates was the most likely situation. Two producers were sent to Brazil - one for each candidate. Focused coverage Paulo Cabral covered candidate Jose Serra and interviewed the electorate across Brazil. I followed the campaign of candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who finally won the dispute and became president in January 2003. We produced a radio programme a day. Even with a reduced team - some newspapers and web sites from Brazil had teams of 15 or more journalists - we achieved a very competitive coverage, interviewing top politicians from both sides and getting a good response from our public. Covering the elections was a big challenge and a great experience - both professionally and personally. I hadn't been in Brazil for over a year but I had kept in touch with the political situation, and with friends and colleagues. Trying to be objective It was the fourth time Lula was running for president. He had lost every election. Since his last defeat, in 1998, some people in Brazil, including members of his own party the PT (or Workers Party), were skeptical about his chances. For the first time in the history of Brazil, a leftwing candidate was about to be elected without the threat of a coup or some radical response from the far right. It was a historic moment for the country but we also realised how easy it would be to be carried away by the prevailing mood - optimism. I believe we managed to present what was new and exciting about the elections, whilst underlining the fact that Lula and his party have huge problems to solve once in power.

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