Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won Brazil’s presidential runoff on Sunday, securing 51.79 percent of the vote against Flávio Bolsonaro’s 48.21 percent, according to the final tally .
The 80-year-old incumbent reversed a first-round deficit of 2.2 million votes in just three weeks, winning 64.26 million ballots to Bolsonaro’s 59.83 million . Turnout reached 80.8 percent, up from 78.92 percent in the first round .
Bolsonaro refused to concede and vowed to seek annulment of the result, citing a Supreme Court decision to extend voting by two hours due to transport disruptions and severe weather . Both campaigns had requested the extension, but Bolsonaro called the move “unacceptable” and a “dirty trick” .
Analysts attributed Lula’s turnaround to a revitalised grassroots effort and a shift to digital campaigning, with young voters organising online as “Lula’s army” . Gustavo Ribeiro, editor-in-chief of The Brazilian Report, said Lula’s team pivoted from an “anachronistic, mostly offline campaign” to a more dynamic approach .
Brazil’s electoral authority and congressional leaders quickly recognised Lula’s victory, including Supreme Court Justice Kassio Nunes, a Bolsonaro appointee . The president of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre, called the margin of over 4 million votes “conclusive” and praised the electronic voting system as a “heritage” of Brazilian democracy .
Lula, who turns 81 on Tuesday, will serve a fourth non-consecutive term, the first candidate to win a runoff after finishing second in the first round since Brazil’s return to democracy in 1985 . His father, Jair Bolsonaro, was convicted of plotting a coup after refusing to accept defeat in 2022 and is serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest .
