Lula Claims Record Fourth Term as Vote Extension Sparks Dispute
The 80-year-old leader defeated Flavio Bolsonaro by a narrow margin after a Supreme Court judge extended voting hours, a move Bolsonaro now seeks to overturn.
By Jabari Long ·
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva secured a historic fourth non-consecutive term as president of Brazil on Sunday, defeating right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro in a runoff that was decided in the final hours of counting. The 80-year-old leftist won with more than 51 percent of the vote against Bolsonaro's 48 percent, a result declared by electoral authorities once 98.76 percent of ballots were tallied. This victory marks a rare comeback, as no presidential candidate in Brazil has won a runoff after finishing second in the first round in nearly 40 years.
The race remained tight until the end, with polls showing the two men virtually tied in the days before the election. Three weeks earlier, Bolsonaro had won the first round with 47.03 percent of the vote to Lula's 45.16 percent, a gap of 2.2 million votes. Lula's team focused on winning back abstainers and emphasizing cost-of-living issues and social programs. While Bolsonaro initially led on Sunday evening, Lula pulled ahead as results arrived from the northeast, a traditional stronghold for his Workers' Party.
The outcome is now complicated by a last-minute extension of voting hours. Voting was scheduled to end at 5pm Brasilia time, but Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin ordered stations to remain open until 7pm. The decision came after both campaigns requested more time; Lula's team blamed local officials for cutting public transport in several cities, while Bolsonaro cited heavy rain and flooding. In Minas Gerais, 349 polling locations lost electricity, though machines continued to run on backup batteries. Zanin later clarified that stations already closed would stay closed, leading to confusion at the polls.
Bolsonaro has pledged to annul the vote, accusing Zanin of judicial malfeasance. He noted that Zanin served as Lula's personal lawyer before being appointed to the Supreme Court in 2023. "He changes the rules of the game mid-game," Bolsonaro said. He added, "It is impossible to recognise the results of the election." Brazil's Federal Police are investigating transport disruptions in five states, and a court in Salvador ordered the arrest of the city's transport secretary over alleged directed bus cuts. Donald Trump Jr also criticized the extension on social media.
Turnout played a role in the final tally. Andrei Roman, head of polling firm AtlasIntel, cited a drop in abstention as a factor in Lula's win. In the first round, an estimated 33.4 million Brazilians stayed home, representing 21 percent of the electorate, the highest abstention rate in a general election since 1998. Lula made late appeals to his working-class base, including a promise to provide free public transport on weekends.
The result complicates plans for US President Donald Trump in Latin America, where right-wing candidates have recently won elections. Reuters reported that State Department officials had pushed for sanctions against Brazil to weaken Lula. When asked on Sunday whom he wanted to win, Trump said, "I don't want to get into that, but we are watching."
