Brazil’s electoral authority has declared Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva the winner of Sunday’s presidential runoff, defeating right-wing senator Flávio Bolsonaro and securing a historic fourth term as president.
The result, announced after voting closed on Sunday, makes Lula the first president elected to the office four times in Brazil’s modern democratic era. With almost all polling sections counted, he held about 51.7% of valid votes against about 48.3% for Bolsonaro, a lead of more than four million votes, according to figures reported from Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE).
Supporters celebrated the result on Sunday night, while leaders in several Latin American countries congratulated Lula. The runoff result was reported as a major story by Reuters, the BBC, Al Jazeera and other international outlets.
A comeback from second place
The runoff was a comeback for the 80-year-old left-wing leader. In the first round on 4 October, Bolsonaro had finished ahead, with about 47% of the vote against about 45% for Lula, but neither candidate won an outright majority, forcing a second round.
Lula’s runoff win is the first time since direct presidential elections returned in 1989 that the candidate who finished second in the first round has gone on to win the presidency.
Lula, of the Workers’ Party, previously served as president from 2003 to 2010 and returned to office in 2023 after winning the 2022 election. Bolsonaro, a senator, is the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro.
The two candidates offered sharply different approaches to organised crime and to reviving Brazil’s economy, and the campaign also carried wider implications for Brazil’s relations with the United States. Lula has challenged Washington on several fronts and sought closer ties with China, while Bolsonaro is aligned with Washington on several issues, including the use of lethal force against drug gangs.
A tense count and extended voting
The count was closely contested for much of Sunday evening before Lula’s lead widened as counting progressed. The election was also marked by disruption on polling day, with transport delays and bad weather affecting voters in some areas.
Both campaigns sought an extension of voting hours. A judge on Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered polling stations to remain open for an additional two hours, but voting had already ended in some areas, while electoral authorities in other parts of the country did not follow the order, raising concerns about whether all voters would be able to cast their ballots.
Those disputes added tension to an already polarised race, and election-night coverage noted that legal challenges were possible. The figures reported by the electoral court, however, showed a lead that news outlets described as decisive once almost all sections had been counted.
Reactions and what comes next
Global leaders were quick to react. Reuters reported congratulations from the presidents of Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia and Cuba, among others, with Mexico’s president describing the result as a win for democracy and for the Brazilian people.
The result also stands out in a regional context. Lula’s win interrupts a run of right-wing presidential victories in Latin America, making Brazil the region’s largest country to return a left-wing leader in this cycle.
For Brazil itself, the outcome keeps Lula in office rather than handing power to a new Bolsonaro-led presidency, after a campaign that divided the country. The next step is the formal completion of the count and the transition to Lula’s fourth term at the head of Latin America’s largest country.
For now, the confirmed facts are clear: the electoral authority has declared Lula the winner, the margin is more than four million votes with almost all sections counted, and the first-round runner-up has completed a historic comeback to win the presidency.