Lula’s Brazil presidential election victory has secured Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva a fourth non-consecutive term in office after he defeated right-wing senator Flavio Bolsonaro in Sunday’s runoff, according to the results reported by Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court.
Lula, 80, received 51.79% of the vote, equivalent to 64.26 million votes, while Bolsonaro, 45, secured 48.21%, or 59.83 million votes. The margin of more than 4.4 million votes gave the incumbent president a decisive win in a closely contested election.
The result makes Lula the first Brazilian president to win four non-consecutive terms. However, the election outcome was immediately challenged by Bolsonaro, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who refused to recognise the result and announced plans to seek its annulment.
Bolsonaro questioned a Supreme Court decision that extended voting by two hours on Sunday following complaints about transport difficulties and weather conditions. He argued that the circumstances surrounding the extension undermined the election’s legitimacy.
“It is impossible to recognize the election results, given the circumstances under which things unfolded,” Bolsonaro told journalists.
Both campaigns had requested additional voting time, although their stated concerns differed. Lula’s representatives pointed to transport shortages affecting voters in several cities, while Bolsonaro’s campaign raised concerns about heavy rainfall in southern Brazil.
Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin, a former lawyer for Lula, authorised the extension. Brazil’s electoral court subsequently confirmed the result, despite Bolsonaro’s objections.
Electoral law specialists interviewed by BBC News Brasil said an attempt to annul the election was unlikely to succeed. They cited Lula’s margin of victory and the fact that both campaigns had sought an extension of voting hours.
Lula’s victory followed a reversal in support between the two rounds of voting. In the first round on 4 October, Bolsonaro finished ahead with approximately 47% of the vote, compared with Lula’s 45%. The runoff result showed that Lula had managed to build enough additional support to overtake his challenger.
His campaign gained ground across Brazil’s north-east and overturned Bolsonaro’s first-round lead in Minas Gerais. Lula also moved ahead in 211 municipalities, including Rio de Janeiro. Campaigning, social media mobilisation and efforts to encourage voter participation helped drive support for the incumbent, according to the election account.
Thousands of Lula supporters gathered in Sao Paulo to celebrate his victory. In his post-election remarks, the president stressed that his administration would govern for the entire country, including people who had voted against him.
“No one is obliged to like the elected president, but he was put in place to govern for everyone,” Lula said.
Lula previously served as president from 2003 to 2010 before returning to office in January 2023, following his victory over Jair Bolsonaro in the 2022 election. The former president is serving a 27-year prison sentence following his conviction over a plot to overturn the 2022 election result.
Despite Lula’s latest victory, the election leaves him facing a difficult political landscape. Right-wing parties gained seats in Congress, potentially complicating efforts to pass legislation and advance his administration’s priorities.
Lula’s campaign focused on reducing poverty, creating employment, expanding social spending and protecting the environment. Delivering on those promises will depend in part on his government’s ability to negotiate with lawmakers who do not share his political agenda.
International leaders congratulated Lula on his victory. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney were among those who welcomed the result.
“Democracy and multilateralism have won in Brazil,” von der Leyen wrote on X.
US President Donald Trump, whose administration supported the Bolsonaro political camp, had not publicly responded to the election result as of Monday morning, according to the original report.
Lula’s fourth non-consecutive presidential term is scheduled to begin on 5 January 2027 and run until 2030. While the election has delivered him another mandate, Bolsonaro’s refusal to accept defeat adds to the political tensions surrounding the transfer of power.
