Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has won a fourth term, defeating Senator Flávio Bolsonaro in Sunday’s presidential runoff, according to results from the Superior Electoral Court (TSE).
With 99.77% of electoral sections counted, Lula holds 51.76% of valid votes (64,078,503) to Bolsonaro’s 48.24% (59,728,246), a lead of more than 4.35 million votes. The TSE’s results dashboard marks the race as mathematically decided. The remaining ballots are far too few to close that gap, and about 4.1 million ballots were cast as null or invalid.
A Rare Reversal
The result reverses the first round on October 4, when Bolsonaro finished ahead with about 47% to Lula’s 45%, defying most polls. According to The Guardian, no first-round runner-up has won a presidential runoff in Brazil since the return of democracy in 1985. Final pre-runoff surveys had shown a statistical tie, with several giving Bolsonaro a slight edge.
A Late Surge From the Northeast
The count swung through the evening. Bolsonaro led early as votes from the south, which lean right, were reported first. Lula moved ahead as ballots from the Northeast, his stronghold, came in, and his lead widened steadily. He carried all nine Northeastern states, including Bahia and Pernambuco, where he took about 70% of the vote.
Bolsonaro, 45, is the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who lost to Lula in 2022 and is serving a prison sentence for a failed coup attempt. Flávio Bolsonaro campaigned on a message of change. Lula’s win keeps the Workers’ Party in the presidency for another term.
Developing story. Figures are preliminary. This report will be updated when the TSE issues its formal declaration and Bolsonaro responds to the result.
Leave a Reply