Lula wins Brazil runoff in shock upset, securing unprecedented fourth term

Brazil’s incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has won the country’s presidential runoff, edging past Senator Flavio Bolsonaro to secure an unprecedented fourth term, Al Jazeera reported, citing Brazil’s official election body.

Lula received 51.75% of votes with 98.76% of votes counted, while Bolsonaro trailed with 48.25%, according to Al Jazeera’s live results blog, updated at 00:14 GMT on Monday.

The result reverses the first round on 4 October, in which Bolsonaro finished ahead with 47.03% of the vote against Lula’s 45.16%, MercoPress reported, and defies the final Datafolha poll, which put the pair level at 50% each of valid votes.

The count followed a chaotic close to polling on Sunday. Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin extended voting by two hours after Lula’s campaign cited public transport problems in three cities in the state of Bahia, and the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) paused publishing results until voting had ended — the subject of Flip News’s earlier story on Sunday night.

Al Jazeera notes that legal challenges are likely, given the tension around the voting extension. Bolsonaro, 45, is the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup after his defeat by Lula in 2022.

The next presidential term begins on 5 January 2027, the Associated Press reported.

Sources: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2026/10/25/brazil-election-results-2026-live-polls-close-in-lula-bolsonaro-face-off | https://en.mercopress.com/2026/10/25/brazil-chooses-between-lula-and-bolsonaro-in-its-tightest-runoff-in-recent-history | https://www.arabnews.pk/world/brazil-heads-to-runoff-election-after-bolsonaro-lula-fail-to-garner-majority-vote-3003200