Lula wins fourth term with 51.79% of vote

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has secured a fourth term in office, defeating right-wing challenger Flávio Bolsonaro with 51.79% of the vote. The result marks the first time a president has won a second round after losing the first since the country returned to civilian rule in 1985. Lula’s victory margin over Bolsonaro stood at 4.4 million votes.

The election concluded on Sunday following an unusual two-hour extension of voting hours. Both candidates requested the additional time for different reasons. Lula’s team cited a shortage of buses in São Paulo and Bahia that prevented voters from reaching polling stations. Bolsonaro’s camp pointed to heavy rainfall in southern regions and São Paulo. The Supreme Court issued the decision just as polls were scheduled to close, leaving some stations unable to reopen after they had already shut.

Supreme Court President Kassio Nunes Marques, who was appointed by former president Jair Bolsonaro, confirmed Lula’s victory. Marques stated that the extension did not disrupt the vote count or the electoral process. Bolsonaro, who is the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, has refused to acknowledge the result. He called the outcome inexplicable and impossible, and has asked for it to be annulled. However, legal experts describe the chances of the result being overturned as remote.

Fernando Neisser of the Institute of Lawyers of São Paulo noted that the large margin of victory makes a legal challenge difficult. Alberto Rollo added that constitutional rules fixing election dates complicate any effort to annul the vote. In the first round on October 4, Bolsonaro had led with 47% of the vote against Lula’s 45%. Lula’s campaign focused on increasing turnout in the second round, a strategy that succeeded. Sunday saw the largest drop in abstention between rounds since 1989, following a first round where 33 million people did not vote.

Lula, who will turn 81 on Tuesday, has served two non-consecutive terms previously. His new term begins on January 5 and will run until 2030. During his victory speech in São Paulo, Lula said his fourth term would be the best in the country’s history and that he would listen more to the Brazilian people. Vice President Geraldo Alckmin told Lula that he had saved Brazilian democracy for the second time.

The victory places Lula in a complex position given tensions with the United States. President Donald Trump has previously supported Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year sentence for a coup attempt. Lula referenced Trump’s Donroe Doctrine in his speech, insisting that Brazil would not accept being anyone’s backyard. While Trump has not yet reacted, leaders from Ecuador, Spain, France, and South Africa have congratulated Lula. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that democracy and multilateralism had won.