Brazil: Lula da Silva Elected President for a Fourth Time; Flávio Bolsonaro Vows Legal Challenge

BRASÍLIA: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has won Brazil’s presidential runoff, defeating right-wing candidate Flávio Bolsonaro to be elected president for a fourth time. According to official results from the Superior Electoral Court, Lula received 64,256,232 votes (51.79 percent) against Bolsonaro’s 59,826,041 (48.21 percent), a margin of roughly 4.4 million.
Lula, 80, served as president from 2003 to 2011 and returned to office in 2023. He had trailed in the first round on Oct 4, with about 45 percent to Bolsonaro’s 47 percent, but neither passed the 50 percent threshold, which forced the runoff. Flávio Bolsonaro, 45, is the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted over an attempt to seize power after the 2022 election.
On election day, Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin approved a two-hour extension of voting in some areas because of public transport problems and bad weather. Bolsonaro has rejected the decision and announced he will seek to have the results annulled. Electoral authorities say a candidate’s objection does not automatically void an official result.
In his victory speech, Lula stressed democracy and public participation and said Brazil is “nobody’s backyard,” remarks seen against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. Of more than 158.7 million eligible voters, about 128.2 million cast ballots, with abstention at 19.2 percent, down from 21.08 percent in the first round. Lula will be sworn in on Jan 5, 2027.