Factbox - Brazil's general elections

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazil holds a general election on Sunday to choose, among other offices, a successor to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term.

Here are some basic facts about Brazil and the election:

* Brazil is the world's fourth most populous democracy. Sunday's vote is the sixth direct presidential election since military rule ended in 1985.

* The vote is also the first presidential election since the end of military rule in which Lula is not a candidate.

* Brazil is the world's eighth-largest economy, with a gross domestic product of about $1.6 trillion.

* Brazil's population is just over 190 million.

* Voting is mandatory for all citizens over the age of 18. Citizens aged 17-18 may vote but are not required to. About 131 million Brazilians are eligible to vote.

* In addition to president, the following posts are up for election: 27 state governors; all 513 representatives in the Chamber of Deputies; two-thirds of the 81-seat Senate; and 1,059 representatives to state assemblies.

* Voting stations are open from 8 a.m. (7 a.m. EDT) to 5 p.m. (2000 GMT).

* With the exception of a few remote polling stations, votes are cast electronically and can be tallied quickly.

* An exit poll is expected after the poll closes at 6 p.m. (2100 GMT) in the western-most time zone.

* After that, the Superior Electoral Tribunal will release results in real time as they come in.

* In the presidential and gubernatorial races, if neither candidate obtains more than 50 percent of the vote, the two front-runners face off in a second round on October 31.

(Compiled by Raymond Colitt; Editing by Kieran Murray)