Lula wins fourth term as Brazil’s president after defeating Flavio Bolsonaro

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has won Sunday’s presidential runoff, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) declared, securing a fourth nonconsecutive term after defeating Flavio Bolsonaro in a closely contested race, Anadolu Agency reported.

With nearly all polling stations counted, Lula had 51.76% of valid votes, compared with 48.24% for Bolsonaro, a margin of more than 4 million votes.

The result is unprecedented in modern Brazilian political history. Since the two-round presidential election system was introduced in 1989, Lula is the first candidate to win a runoff after finishing second in the first round.

In the first round on Oct. 4, Bolsonaro led with 47.03% of valid votes, while Lula received 45.16%. The result set the stage for three weeks of intense campaigning across Latin America’s largest country.

The runoff result is a setback for the Bolsonaro family. Flavio, a 45-year-old senator and the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, had sought to return his family to the presidency.

The lead changed hands several times in the early stages of vote counting before Lula moved ahead as more ballots were counted, including returns from urban centres and the heavily populated Northeast.

Lula previously governed Brazil from 2003 to 2010 and won another term in 2022. He will begin his fourth term on Jan. 5, 2027.