Lula wins fourth term after Brazil election comeback

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won a fourth term on Sunday, October 25, overturning a first-round defeat to right-wing challenger Flávio Bolsonaro. The Superior Electoral Court announced that the left-wing incumbent received 51.79% of valid votes, against Bolsonaro’s 48.21%.

The court reported 64,256,232 votes for Lula and 59,826,041 for Bolsonaro, a margin of about 4.4 million. The result keeps Lula in office for another four years, but his opponent’s refusal to accept the outcome immediately brought a new dispute over the election.

Bolsonaro had led the opening round on October 4 with 47.03%, compared with Lula’s 45.16%, according to Agência Senado. The Senate’s news service described Lula’s reversal as the first time a presidential candidate had overcome a first-round deficit to defeat the leader in the runoff.

The victory adds to Lula’s presidential election wins in 2002, 2006 and 2022. It extends a political career that took him from trade union leadership to the presidency and, in 2022, back into office after defeating then-president Jair Bolsonaro.

Participation increased between the two rounds. The electoral court said 128.2 million people voted in the runoff, with abstention falling to about 19.2% from 21.08% in the opening round. The figures establish higher turnout, although they do not by themselves explain how individual voters shifted between the candidates.

Voting day was complicated by a Supreme Court decision extending polling from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Brasília time at stations that remained open. Electoral court president Kassio Nunes Marques said the late change required technical adjustments and temporarily disrupted the processing of results; machines already closed could not be reopened.

Agência Senado reported that the extension followed a request from Lula’s campaign alleging failures in voter transport. Bolsonaro’s campaign also requested additional voting time because of rain in Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul. After losing, however, Bolsonaro rejected the result and said he would seek annulment, objecting to the court-ordered change in polling hours.

Lula used his victory remarks to promise a government serving all Brazilians and a respectful relationship with Congress, according to Agência Gov. He said he would work with the legislature chosen by voters, placing cooperation with Congress among the commitments he outlined after the divisive contest.

The president also promised to expand full-time education and the Pé-de-Meia student support programme, increase investment in science and technology, and strengthen public healthcare. Agência Gov reported that he pledged closer cooperation with state governments against violence and organised crime, alongside greater public participation through digital communication.

Lula is scheduled to begin his next term on January 5, 2027, according to Agência Senado. Attention now turns to preparations for that administration and Bolsonaro’s announced attempt to challenge an outcome the electoral court has declared in Lula’s favour.