Lula wins presidential runoff in Brazil; Flavio Bolsonaro refuses to accept defeat
Lula won 51.8% to 48.2% in the second round; Flavio Bolsonaro refuses to accept defeat and says he will ask for the vote to be annulled.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been declared the winner of Brazil's presidential runoff, securing a fourth term ahead of his rival Flavio Bolsonaro, who has refused to accept the result and said he will seek to have the vote annulled.
The Superior Electoral Court reported that Lula received 51.8 percent of the vote while Flavio Bolsonaro won 48.2 percent, a margin of about 4.4 million votes. The high turnout, analysts say, was a decisive factor in Lula's victory.
Bolsonaro rejects outcome and cites extended voting hours
Flavio Bolsonaro, who is currently under house arrest, declined to recognize the result. "It is impossible to recognize this result," he said in Brazil. "I will ask for the annulment of these elections."
Bolsonaro based his challenge on a decision by the Superior Electoral Court to keep polling stations open for an additional two hours shortly before closing — a measure he called unprecedented. Both campaigns had requested extensions of voting hours because of transport problems and bad weather in parts of the country; the difference was that Bolsonaro reportedly sought extensions only in specific states.
Thousands of Lula supporters celebrated in the streets after the announcement. Lula, who will turn 81 on October 27, 2026, framed the win as a vote to safeguard democracy and pointed to the country's recent economic improvements during his administration, including lower unemployment, reduced poverty and higher minimum wage.
Flavio Bolsonaro ran as a standard-bearer for his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a jail sentence totaling more than 27 years following convictions related to an attempted coup; for health reasons the elder Bolsonaro is currently in home detention.
Photo: press material from the event
