Lula wins fourth term as Brazil’s president, beats Flávio Bolsonaro 51.8% to 48.2% in run-off
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva came from behind to defeat Flávio Bolsonaro in Brazil's 25 October run-off by about 4.4 million votes. Bolsonaro has refused to concede and wants the vote annulled.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been re-elected President of Brazil, defeating far-right senator Flávio Bolsonaro in the run-off on Sunday, 25 October. The win gives him a fourth term. He came from behind after trailing in the first round, and he turns 81 on Tuesday.
With all polling stations counted, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) figures cited by The Rio Times gave Lula 51.79 per cent of valid votes, or about 64.26 million. Flávio Bolsonaro had 48.21 per cent, or about 59.83 million. The gap was close to 4.4 million votes, and turnout was about 80.8 per cent. The Associated Press reported that the electoral court said Lula’s lead could no longer be overturned.
A first-round deficit overturned
The result reverses the first round on 4 October, when no candidate crossed 50 per cent. Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, finished first that day with about 47 per cent to Lula’s 45 per cent. AP put his lead at more than 2.2 million votes.
Lula, the candidate of the left, thanked voters and promised to govern for all Brazilians, including those who voted against him. He called the result a defeat for denialism and lies, and said he would deliver the best term any Brazilian president had served. According to The Rio Times, the new term begins on 5 January 2027.
Bolsonaro camp refuses to concede
Flávio Bolsonaro did not accept the result. He said he would ask for the run-off to be annulled. His main complaint is a last-minute extension of voting hours, which he called unprecedented. AP reported that Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin ordered the extension three minutes before polls were due to close, and that both campaigns had asked for it. Some polling stations got the order only after they had already shut, which AP said could become the basis of a legal challenge.
The dispute recalls the 2022 election, when Lula narrowly beat Jair Bolsonaro. The former president is now serving a 27-year prison sentence for an attempted coup. His other son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, lives in the United States after being sentenced in Brazil for lobbying for sanctions and tariffs against the country during his father’s trial.
Regional and global significance
Flávio Bolsonaro is a known ally of US President Donald Trump. Trump did not endorse either candidate before the vote but said Washington was watching. AP noted that Lula’s victory keeps Latin America’s largest economy on a path more independent of the US, and that Brazil and Mexico, the region’s two biggest countries, now both have left-of-centre governments.
For India, Lula’s return means continuity with a partner in BRICS and the G20. New Delhi and Brasilia have worked closely in both groups over Lula’s current term.
Attention now shifts to whether the Bolsonaro camp files a formal challenge, and how quickly Brazil’s courts deal with it.
Sources
Related
A year after Dh100 million UAE Lottery win, Telangana’s Anilkumar Bolla says family time matters most
France reports world’s first human Shamonda virus case; patient has died
