Lula wins Brazil runoff as Flavio Bolsonaro seeks to challenge result

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won re-election on Sunday, defeating right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro after trailing him in the first round. The Superior Electoral Court declared Lula the winner shortly after 9pm Brasilia time. With counting still under way, the incumbent had more than 51 percent of the vote and over 64 million ballots, compared with Bolsonaro’s 48 percent and more than 59 million. The gap exceeded 4 million votes.

The result makes Lula the first politician in modern Brazilian history to win a presidential runoff after losing the opening round. It also gives him an unprecedented fourth non-consecutive term. The 80-year-old former metalworkers’ union leader is scheduled to take office on January 5, 2027, surpassing his own record as the oldest president sworn in since Brazil’s return to democracy.

Speaking hoarsely and coughing at a podium decorated with flags, Lula thanked voters for defending democracy and acknowledged the legislative challenges ahead. “I do not choose the Congress,” he said. “It was the people who chose it, and it is with them that I will vote, work and get things approved.” His next term will face the most right-wing Congress in recent memory.

Bolsonaro refused to concede and said he would seek to annul the outcome, challenging a Supreme Court decision that extended voting by two hours. The campaigns of both candidates had requested additional time, and polling stations nationwide remained open until 7pm Brasilia time. Bolsonaro nevertheless accused the court of changing the rules during the election and said he could not accept the result.

The extension followed disruption and allegations of voter suppression. Reports that public transport had been suspended in some places prompted Lula’s allies to accuse Bolsonaro supporters of limiting bus services to discourage the president’s working-class voters. Heavy rainfall also affected southern areas regarded as Bolsonaro strongholds.

Lula entered the runoff after receiving 45 percent in the October 4 first round, behind Bolsonaro’s 47 percent. He subsequently focused on living costs, promoting a constitutional amendment passed this month to shorten the workweek and raising the prospect of free public transport on weekends. Although poverty declined and unemployment remained low during his third term, rising household debt fuelled economic dissatisfaction. In September, he banned online gambling and sports betting apps.

The victory interrupts a series of presidential gains by the regional right, including in Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Bolivia and Ecuador. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum congratulated Lula, while US Senator Bernie Sanders welcomed his re-election as “extraordinary”. Many of the region’s right-wing leaders have benefited from anti-incumbent sentiment and support from US President Donald Trump.

Relations with Washington remain a source of uncertainty. The Trump administration supported the Bolsonaro family and imposed 50-percent tariffs on certain Brazilian products last year in an effort to halt the prosecution of Flavio’s father, former President Jair Bolsonaro. Judges involved also faced sanctions. Jair Bolsonaro, whom Lula defeated in 2022, has since received a 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup after that loss.

Donald Trump Jr criticised the voting extension on social media, suggesting judicial malpractice. US Representative Ro Khanna, a critic of Trump, urged the president to respect the outcome and refrain from undermining Brazil’s elections. Lula has characterised Washington’s earlier pressure over Jair Bolsonaro’s prosecution as an attack on the sovereignty of Brazil’s judicial system.