BRASILIA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Prior to Brazil's presidential election on Sunday, ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva released a video message via his social media accounts on Saturday, asking voters to cast their ballots for Workers' Party (PT) candidate Fernando Haddad.

In the nearly 30-second video, Lula called for "the legacy of the party that has made the most social politics in the country" to be defended.

"My dear peers...I wanted to speak with you, to speak with your heart, with your soul. We must defend the legacy of the party. Never has this country needed you more. The hour has come to lift our heads...in this country there is no one better than us," Lula said.

The ex-president has been in prison since April 7, serving a 12-year sentence for corruption and money laundering. He is still able to appeal his conviction to the country's Supreme Court.

According to recent polls, Haddad is currently in the second place behind Social Liberal Party candidate Jair Bolsonaro.

The PT's biggest fear is that with Bolsonaro's rise in the recent polls with a support rate of 36.7 percent, he might pull off a first round victory with more than half of the vote.

Lula's video was distributed a week after members of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) ruled to authorize interviews between Lula and the press.