Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has won Brazil’s presidential runoff, defeating right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro to secure an unprecedented fourth term as president. Brazil’s electoral authority, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), declared Lula the winner on Sunday night, and with all votes counted he took 51.8 percent of valid votes to Bolsonaro’s 48.2 percent.
The result is a historic first for Brazil’s modern democracy: no candidate who lost the first round had ever come back to win a runoff. Lula, 80, trailed Bolsonaro in the first round on 4 October, yet finished ahead when the second round was counted.
What the result was
With all votes counted, Lula held 51.8 percent of valid votes to Bolsonaro’s 48.2 percent, a lead of nearly 4.4 million votes. The TSE figures cited in live reporting put Lula on roughly 64.08 million votes and Bolsonaro on roughly 59.73 million.
| Candidate | Share of valid votes | Votes (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva | 51.8% | About 64.08 million |
| Flavio Bolsonaro | 48.2% | About 59.73 million |
The percentages moved slightly as the count progressed — earlier stages showed 51.75 percent to 48.25 percent — but the final picture is a clear, narrow win, not a landslide. The electoral authority’s declaration, reported by Reuters, is what makes the result official.
How the night unfolded
The count started as close as a runoff can be. With about 47 percent of votes counted on Sunday night, Lula led by just 50.01 percent to 49.99 percent. As votes from Brazil’s populous northeast — Lula’s traditional stronghold — came in, his lead widened step by step, passing 51 percent and then holding above it.
That pattern decided the race. Bolsonaro performed well in his southern strongholds, winning Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Parana and Rio Grande do Sul, but by smaller margins than in the first round. His vote in those states was not enough to overcome Lula’s advantage in the north and northeast, where the Workers’ Party has dominated for a generation.
Minas Gerais, often called Brazil’s bellwether state, told the story in miniature. Bolsonaro won it by about five points in the first round; in the runoff it was essentially tied.
The voting-hours row
Sunday’s vote was plunged into confusion by a last-minute Supreme Court ruling extending polling by two hours nationwide. Justice Cristiano Zanin issued the order minutes after polls were due to close, after requests citing public transport delays and bad weather that had kept voters from reaching polling stations on time.
Both campaigns had sought extensions in places — Lula’s camp pointed to buses pulled from circulation in some cities, while Bolsonaro’s camp cited heavy rain in others — but Bolsonaro’s supporters criticised the nationwide extension. Al Jazeera’s live coverage noted that legal challenges were likely, given how tense and polarised the race had become. The extension row is one reason the result’s aftermath, not just the count, will be watched closely.
Why Lula won
Three things explain the comeback. First, the northeast firewall: Lula’s support in the poorer, more populous northeast held firm, and those votes arrived later in the count, which is why his lead grew through the night. Second, first-round voters who had backed other candidates did not break decisively enough for Bolsonaro, despite endorsements from former Minas Gerais governor Romeu Zema, former Goias governor Ronaldo Caiado and author Augusto Cury. Third, the Workers’ Party’s electoral machinery — built over decades — turned out its base in a race where turnout and organisation mattered as much as polling.
Lula voted in Sao Bernardo do Campo, the Sao Paulo industrial city where his political career began as a trade unionist in the 1960s. Bolsonaro voted in Rio de Janeiro’s Vila Isabel neighbourhood. “What the people did in this second round is something I’ve never seen before in my life,” Lula said after casting his ballot.
Why it matters
The result bucks a rightward shift across Latin America that has recently carried conservative candidates to power in Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru, in several cases with backing from US President Donald Trump. Trump did not officially endorse Flavio Bolsonaro, but he made no secret of his preference and enjoys a close relationship with the Bolsonaro family. Lula’s win stops that run at Latin America’s largest country and economy.
It also leaves Lula governing against the grain at home. Brazil has recently elected a Congress described as one of the most conservative in its history, with a centre-right and right-wing majority. Political analyst Fernando Brancoli told Al Jazeera that Lula’s government would not be able to push a broad agenda and would have to negotiate for smaller wins with those groups. The fourth term, in other words, may be harder to govern than it was to win.
The Bolsonaro movement is not going away either. Flavio Bolsonaro, 45, is the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is under house arrest over his role in a coup plot after his own 2022 election defeat. His strong first-round showing, and his narrow runoff loss, leave him a central figure in Brazilian politics — and Sao Paulo governor Tarcisio de Freitas, who stepped aside this cycle to clear the way for Flavio, is already being discussed as a possible right-wing candidate in 2030.
What happens next
The TSE declaration settles who won, but the days ahead will test how cleanly the result is accepted. Legal challenges are possible after the voting-hours extension, and attention will turn to whether Bolsonaro concedes and how his camp responds to the final count. Voters in five states and the Federal District of Brasilia also chose governors in runoffs on Sunday, with Bolsonaro-aligned candidates poised to win most of those races — a reminder that the right’s strength in Brazil extends well beyond the presidency.
For Lula, the immediate task is forming a governing bargain with a Congress that leans against him, while his supporters celebrate a comeback nobody in Brazilian democratic history had managed before: losing the first round, then winning the runoff. His new term starts on January 5, 2027.
Timeline
- 4 October 2026: First round — Bolsonaro leads with about 47 percent to Lula’s about 45 percent, forcing a runoff.
- 25 October 2026 (morning): Lula votes in Sao Bernardo do Campo; Bolsonaro votes in Rio de Janeiro.
- 25 October 2026 (evening): Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin extends polling by two hours nationwide after transport and weather complaints.
- 25 October 2026 (night): Early count almost tied at 50.01 percent to 49.99 percent with 47 percent counted; Lula’s lead widens as northeast votes arrive.
- 25-26 October 2026 (overnight): TSE declares Lula the winner with 51.8 percent to 48.2 percent; final count confirms a lead of nearly 4.4 million votes.
FAQs
Q: Who won Brazil’s presidential runoff? A: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won, defeating Flavio Bolsonaro, according to Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE).
Q: By how much did Lula win? A: By 51.8 percent to 48.2 percent of valid votes, a lead of nearly 4.4 million votes with all votes counted.
Q: Why is this win historic? A: It is the first time since Brazil returned to democracy that a candidate who lost the first round has come back to win a presidential runoff. It also gives Lula an unprecedented fourth term.
Q: What happened in the first round? A: On 4 October, Bolsonaro finished first with about 47 percent to Lula’s about 45 percent, short of the 50 percent needed to win outright, which forced the runoff.
Q: Why were polling hours extended? A: A Supreme Court justice extended voting by two hours nationwide after complaints that transport delays and bad weather had stopped some voters reaching polling stations. Both campaigns had sought extensions in places, but Bolsonaro’s camp criticised the nationwide order.
Q: What happens now? A: The TSE has declared Lula the winner, and his new term starts on January 5, 2027. Legal challenges remain possible after the voting-hours row, and Lula must now govern with a conservative-leaning Congress.
Related coverage
Brazil’s result caps a busy election season covered in our World section, from Serbia’s snap election to the vote in which British Columbia’s Conservatives won a majority. Read more in the World section.