Brazil’s President Lula wins a fourth term against Flavio Bolsonaro
Lula overturns his second-place first-round finish to retain the presidency, with an incoming conservative Congress set to shape his legislative agenda.
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Lula overturns his second-place first-round finish to retain the presidency, with an incoming conservative Congress set to shape his legislative agenda.
Brazil’s electoral court declared President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva the winner of the 25 October presidential runoff, securing an unprecedented fourth term against Senator Flávio Bolsonaro. The completed count gives Lula a 4.4 million-vote margin, the Guardian said, while Bolsonaro refuses to concede and says his legal team will seek to have the election annulled.
Bolsonaro led the 4 October first round. Lula became the first candidate since Brazil’s return to democracy in the 1980s to win the presidency after finishing second in the opening round.
With 100% of votes counted, Lula’s runoff lead was 3.58 percentage points.
| Candidate | 4 October first round | 25 October runoff, complete count |
|---|---|---|
| Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva | 45% | 51.79% |
| Flávio Bolsonaro | 47% | 48.21% |
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Both candidates asked Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court for more voting time. Lula’s campaign cited transport problems; Bolsonaro’s campaign sought extra time in areas affected by heavy rain and flooding.
Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin extended the scheduled 5 p.m. closing time on 25 October to 7 p.m. Brasilia time. Some polling stations had already closed and shut down their electronic voting machines. Zanin then clarified that those stations would remain closed: only stations still open could continue accepting voters until 7 p.m. Some voters were turned away amid confusion over which stations could still accept them.
Reuters, in a report carried by France 24, described the incoming Congress as Brazil’s most conservative since its return to democracy in the 1980s. Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party and allied parties could hold comfortable majorities in both chambers; the seat totals are projections, not confirmed final counts.
| Congressional chamber | Projected allied seats |
|---|---|
| Lower house | More than 280 |
| Upper house | Up to 50 |
Oliver Stuenkel, an international-relations professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in São Paulo, predicted that the legislature would deepen the trend of presidents ceding power to Congress. He said Lula could face reduced influence over Supreme Court nominations, difficult party coalitions and even the threat of impeachment.
Lula’s pledge to increase his welfare programme by 15% is already being implemented. His campaign pledge of free nationwide weekend public transport still awaits formal submission to Congress.
Speaking during Lula’s victory speech on 25 October, Bolsonaro said it was “impossible to concede the election result” and that his legal team would seek annulment. He cited Zanin’s two-hour extension of voting, describing it as “changing the rules of the game while the game was being played”.
Bolsonaro also accused Zanin of judicial malfeasance and pointed to the justice’s previous role as Lula’s personal lawyer. Lula appointed Zanin to the Supreme Court in 2023.
Bolsonaro’s announcement sets out intended legal action; it is not itself a filed challenge or a ruling overturning Lula’s victory. His stated next step is for his legal team to seek annulment.
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