Brazil’s far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro has taken a commanding lead over his rival less than two weeks before an election which has already polarised the country.

Polls show Mr Bolsonaro is on course to take 59 per cent of the vote, leaving his opponent, leftwing academic and former mayor of Sao Paolo, Fernando Haddad, with just 41 per cent.

The Ibope poll, published by the Estado de S.Paulo newspaper on Monday, interviewed 2,506 people and also showed Mr Haddad now has a higher rejection rate, with 47 per cent of those polled saying they would never vote for him, compared with 35 per cent rejecting Mr Bolsonaro.

Mr Bolsonaro, a 63-year-old congressman, has led a populist campaign which has seen him openly defend Brazil's 1964-1985 military dictatorship, call for his political opponents to be killed, promise to relax gun-laws, and attack feminism.

But his pitch as the anti-establishment candidate has won over voters frustrated with political corruption and violent crime.

Meanwhile, Mr Haddad, of the Workers Party (PT), has so far been unable to distance himself from the disdain many Brazilians harbour for his party and its imprisoned founder, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was convicted on corruption charges last year.

The PT held the presidency for 13 of the last 15 years and Lula remains loved by swathes of the population for his social policies, credited with easing the lives of the poor in one of the world's most unequal countries.

But the stunning levels of political graft that flourished under the PT governments, revealed by federal investigators in the last four years, have effectively kneecapped Mr Haddad's run.

He has struggled to both stick by Lula, whom the PT considers an unjustly convicted political prisoner, and also acknowledge the party's errors, promising to clean up the loathed political system.

Brazil elections: far-right candidate wins first round Show all 15 1 /15 Brazil elections: far-right candidate wins first round Brazil elections: far-right candidate wins first round Supporters of Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro celebrate outside his home in Rio AFP/Getty Brazil elections: far-right candidate wins first round Jair Bolsonaro gives his thumbs up after casting his vote AFP/Getty Images Brazil elections: far-right candidate wins first round Supporters of presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro of the Social Liberal Party set fire to an electronic voting machine EPA Brazil elections: far-right candidate wins first round Supporters of Brazilian presidential candidate for the Workers' Party Fernando Haddad react AFP/Getty Brazil elections: far-right candidate wins first round Supporters of Jair Bolsonaro, far-right lawmaker and presidential candidate of the Social Liberal Party, react, in Brasilia Reuters Brazil elections: far-right candidate wins first round Fernando Haddad (R), presidential candidate of Brazil's leftist Worker Party (PT), reacts with supporters REUTERS Brazil elections: far-right candidate wins first round Supporters of Jair Bolsonaro, presidential candidate with the Social Liberal Party celebrate in a bus, in front of his house in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018. Official results showed that Fernando Haddad of the Workers' Party will face Jair Bolsonaro, the far-right congressman in a second-round vote. (AP Photo/Ricardo Borges) Ricardo Borges AP Brazil elections: far-right candidate wins first round Supporters of the Liberal Social Party (PSL), party of far-right candidate Jair Bols EPA Brazil elections: far-right candidate wins first round A supporter of Brazilian presidential candidate for the Workers' Party Fernando Haddad reacts AFP/Getty Brazil elections: far-right candidate wins first round Supporters of Jair Bolsonaro celebrate outside his home AFP/Getty Images Brazil elections: far-right candidate wins first round Supporters of Jair Bolsonaro, presidential candidate with the Social Liberal Party celebrate in front of his house AP Brazil elections: far-right candidate wins first round Supporters of Brazilian presidential candidate for the Workers' Party Fernando Haddad react AFP/Getty Brazil elections: far-right candidate wins first round Supporters of Jair Bolsonaro celebrate in Brasilia Reuters Brazil elections: far-right candidate wins first round People watch Brazilian presidential candidate for the Worky Party (PT) Fernando Haddad's press conference on TV at a bar of Lapa neighborhood AFP/Getty Brazil elections: far-right candidate wins first round TOPSHOT - Supporters of presidential candidate for the Social Liberal Party (PSL) Jair Bolsonaro cheer in front of the residential condominium where he lives, in Barra da Tijuca, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on October 7, 2018, during general elections. - Brazilians began casting ballots Sunday in their most divisive presidential election in years, with a far-right politician promising an iron-fisted crackdown on crime, Jair Bolsonaro, the firm favorite in the first round. (Photo by Fernando Souza / AFP)FERNANDO SOUZA/AFP/Getty Images FERNANDO SOUZA AFP/Getty Images

Pollsters had previously said they expected Mr Bolsonaro’s popularity to reach a limit, particularly given his repeated attacks on black people, the LGBT+ community, women and feminism.

Over the course of his career he has said he would not pay women the same as men, told a fellow congresswoman she “didn’t deserve to be raped”, called the secretary of women’s policy a “big dyke”, and said he is “in favour of dictatorship”.

During his campaign his son Eduardo, who is also a congressman, said: “Rightwing women are prettier than leftwing women. They don’t show the breasts in the streets, nor do they defecate in the streets. Rightwing women are more hygienic.”

But his campaign has confounded expectations, growing greater momentum and seeing more and more supporters flock to back him, with his popularity among women growing.

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Mr Bolsonaro remains unable to lead street rallies as he recovers from a near-fatal stabbing last month.

The run-off vote between the two candidates takes place on 28 October.