Brazil's left-wing President Lula elected for fourth term

Supporters of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva cheer as the results of Brazil's presidential runoff election are announced in São Paulo on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. Natacha Pisarenko/AP hide caption

Natacha Pisarenko/AP

BRASILIA, Brazil — In a stunning comeback, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been elected president of Brazil, according to official results from Sunday's runoff, with more than 96% of votes counted. Lula won more than 51% of the vote, while Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro received more than 48%.

Lula defeated 45-year-old Bolsonaro, fending off a right-wing political dynasty that had promised closer relations with President Trump and extending a career that has already included three nonconsecutive presidential terms.

Election day unfolded chaotically. Around midday, Lula's campaign requested an extension of voting hours, arguing that some local governments had reduced bus service, making it harder for voters to reach polling stations. Bolsonaro also sought an extension, citing heavy rain in some states.

Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin eventually ordered voting extended by two hours beyond its normal 5 p.m. closing time. But the order reached some polling stations after officials had deactivated their electronic voting machines, meaning voting could not resume there.

At one polling station in Rio de Janeiro, 36-year-old accountant Manuela Tunas arrived shortly after 6 p.m., hoping to vote after her flight into the city was delayed. She was unable to cast a ballot. "This is absurd," she said. "If some people can vote, and others can't, it's unfair."

The closely-fought election drew international attention for its implications for a growing right-wing movement in Latin America, the future of the Amazon rainforest and the fate of Brazil's roughly 40-year-old democracy.

Flávio Bolsonaro is the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who narrowly lost to Lula in 2022 and is serving a 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup to overturn that result. His son had pledged to pardon him.

Because the election pitted two well-established political camps against each other, Brazilians showed little enthusiasm for street campaigning in the early months. But Bolsonaro's first-place finish in the first round of voting on Oct. 4 energized the contest, and in recent days supporters of both candidates have filled rallies and flooded social media in an effort to sway voters.

In the end, Lula's message of continuity and a focus on social spending prevailed.

"I think people woke up about the risk of a Bolsonaro government after the first round, and the mobilization made a difference," said Alessandra Miguel, a 35-year-old spa worker who voted for Lula in Rocinha, a favela in Rio de Janeiro.

Lula will govern a sharply divided country. Brazilian political scientist Jairo Nicolau, who studies presidential elections, said one of the most striking features of this year's contest was the rigidity of Brazilians' political allegiances.

Unlike in past years, he said, "people's identity of belonging to a tribe became more important than how they view different policy options."