Lula wins Brazil's election with a record vote, stopping the Bolsonaros' return

Three weeks ago, Flávio Bolsonaro won the first round by 2.2 million votes. On Sunday the gap flipped: with 99.99% counted, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had more than 64 million votes (51.79%) against around 59.7 million (48.21%) for Flávio Bolsonaro, the candidate of the Liberal Party and of Brazil’s far right. The Superior Electoral Court declared him mathematically elected at 21:10 Brasília time. Abstention was 19.2%.

A comeback no candidate had managed since 1989

It is the first time since direct elections returned in 1989 that the loser of the first round has won the presidency. In the first round on 4 October, Flávio Bolsonaro took 47.03% and Lula 45.16%. According to Agência Brasil, the turnaround came from a social media push, including a WhatsApp group of more than 10 million people, and street rallies in dozens of cities.

Lula also beat his own record: no candidate in Brazil had ever received so many votes. His previous best was 60.3 million, in 2022.

A fourth term at 80

A former metalworker and founder of the Workers’ Party, Lula governed from 2003 to 2010 and returned in 2023. He will be the first Brazilian president to serve four terms. He turns 81 on Tuesday, 27 October.

His opponents were the Bolsonaro family. Jair Bolsonaro, president from 2019 to 2022, could not run: he is barred from office until 2030 and was sentenced in 2025 to 27 years in prison for his role in the 2022-2023 coup plot. His eldest son, a senator for Rio de Janeiro, ran in his place.

‘Elected to govern for everyone’

“Nobody has to like the president-elect, but this president was elected to govern for everyone,” Lula said in his victory speech. “I have to govern for 215 million Brazilians.”

Flávio Bolsonaro, by contrast, said it was “impossible to recognise the results” and that his legal team would seek to have the election annulled. His argument is the two-hour extension: the Supreme Court ordered voting to continue until 19:00 at polling stations hit by bus shortages or rain, after both campaigns asked for more time in different states. The head of the Superior Electoral Court, Kassio Nunes Marques, acknowledged that the decision forced changes to the count but defended the security of the process.

Lula will take office on 5 January 2027, the new date set by the Constitution.

Photo: Lula Marques / Agência Brasil.