Lula wins record 4th term as Bolsonaro camp concedes

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has won a fourth term as president of Brazil. He beat Senator Flávio Bolsonaro in the runoff on Sunday, October 25, 2026, by about 4.4 million votes. Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE) announced the result late that night. It gave Lula 51.79% of valid votes and Bolsonaro 48.21%. The outcome reverses the first round on October 4, when Bolsonaro finished ahead. On election night Bolsonaro promised to seek the annulment of the vote. A day later, on Monday, October 26, his Liberal Party (PL) formally accepted the result, and he dropped the annulment bid.

What happened

TSE President Kassio Nunes Marques announced Lula’s re-election soon after the count was effectively complete. According to the court, Lula received 64,256,232 votes and Bolsonaro 59,826,041. About 128.2 million of the more than 158 million registered voters turned out. Abstention was roughly 19.2%, down from just over 21% in the first round.

As results arrived from the north-east, Lula’s traditional stronghold, he moved ahead. Al Jazeera reported that the race was called with about 98.8% of ballots counted. In his victory remarks Lula called the result “a defeat for denialism” and “a defeat for lies”. He also said his campaign had to overcome interference from outside Brazil.

Election day was disrupted by a late legal decision. Both campaigns reported problems getting voters to polling stations, citing transport cuts in some cities and heavy rain and flooding in others. Justice Cristiano Zanin of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) then extended voting from 5 pm to 7 pm Brasília time in sections that were still open. The TSE said the request reached it around 3:30 pm and the decision came after 5 pm. By then thousands of voting machines had already closed and could not be reopened. The TSE later reported that 34,393 votes were cast after 5 pm nationwide, a tiny share of the total. Nunes Marques said an extension “is possible, but it has to be planned and structured” (translated from Portuguese).

From annulment threat to concession

Flávio Bolsonaro is the eldest son of former president Jair Bolsonaro. At a press conference on election night he said he would ask for the vote to be annulled, blaming the late extension for confusion. Al Jazeera quoted him as saying “It is impossible to recognise the results of the election.” The Associated Press reported that it was not clear which legal route he could use.

Within a day his side had backed down. Late on Monday, October 26, the PL issued a statement signed by party president Valdemar Costa Neto. AFP, as published by the Times of Israel, quoted it as saying: “We recognize the presidential election results, as proclaimed by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE)”. According to the Buenos Aires Herald, the statement still questioned whether government spending after the first round had affected the outcome.

Flávio Bolsonaro himself stopped short of admitting defeat. In an Instagram video he said “It wasn’t me who lost; it was the system that won,” the Buenos Aires Herald reported. Instead of seeking annulment, he said he would pursue “the disqualification of Lula’s ticket” over what he called abuses of power, and he promised to “organize the opposition”. Democracy Now reported that he dropped the challenge minutes after US President Donald Trump said he would not intervene, though Trump claimed without evidence that the vote “looked like another rigged election”. Bolsonaro also said the Supreme Court had ordered police to take his passports. He called the order a “travesty” and said: “I never had any intention of leaving the country.”

The background matters. Jair Bolsonaro also disputed his narrow 2022 defeat to Lula. He is now serving a 27-year prison sentence after being convicted over a coup attempt. Federal Police are separately investigating reported transport disruptions in five states on polling day.

Key facts

Runoff date: Sunday, October 25, 2026; result announced by the TSE that night.
Result: Lula (PT) 64,256,232 votes (51.79%); Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) 59,826,041 (48.21%).
Turnout: about 128.2 million voters; abstention about 19.2%.
First round (October 4): Bolsonaro 47.03%, Lula 45.16%.
Concession: the PL formally recognised the TSE result on Monday, October 26; Flávio Bolsonaro dropped his annulment bid but said he would seek the disqualification of Lula’s ticket.
Late voting: 34,393 votes cast after 5 pm under the STF extension.
Inauguration: the new term is due to begin on January 5, 2027, according to AP.
Infrastructure: 499,248 voting machines were used, and 0.31% had to be replaced, according to the TSE.

Background

Lula first served as president from 2003 to 2010. He returned to office in 2023 after defeating Jair Bolsonaro. This is the first time anyone has been elected to a fourth term as Brazil’s president. He campaigned on the cost of living, social programmes and Brazilian sovereignty. That last theme sharpened during a year of tension with Washington over US tariffs, disputes with social media platforms and the prosecution of Jair Bolsonaro. Flávio Bolsonaro offered closer alignment with the United States and an overhaul of the courts.

The international backdrop was unusually charged. Al Jazeera noted that the Trump administration has openly sympathised with the Bolsonaro family, while Trump declined to name a favourite in the runoff. After the vote he chose not to back a challenge.

Perspective: what it means

This section is analysis.

A comeback, not a mandate. Lula turned a first-round deficit into a win of about three and a half percentage points. That shows how well he can mobilise his base, especially in the north-east. But Brazil is split almost down the middle. Lula will be in his 80s during this term, and he will have to work with a Congress in which conservative and centrist blocs hold real power. Every major reform will depend on deals with them.

Institutions under strain. Almost all the post-election argument is about the late extension of voting hours, not the count itself. The TSE’s own figures show how few votes were cast after 5 pm. The electoral court’s mild criticism of the last-minute order shows some friction between Brazil’s top courts. The PL’s quick concession, after Washington declined to step in, has eased the immediate risk of a drawn-out legal fight like the one that followed the 2022 election. But Flávio Bolsonaro’s line that “the system” won keeps doubts about the result alive among his supporters, and his push to disqualify Lula’s ticket means the courts will stay at the centre of Brazilian politics.

The India angle. For New Delhi, the result means continuity. India and Brazil have built closer ties under Lula through BRICS, IBSA and the G20, and Lula has been a leading voice on Global South issues such as reform of the UN Security Council and trade finance. A second consecutive Lula term keeps a familiar partner in place on climate finance, agricultural trade and multilateral reform.

What to watch. Three things: whether Flávio Bolsonaro actually files his bid to disqualify Lula’s ticket and how the TSE handles it, along with the investigation behind the passport order; whether the TSE certifies the winners (the diplomação) on schedule; and what Washington signals as Lula prepares for his inauguration on January 5.

Sources

TopicsBrazil BRICS Elections Flávio Bolsonaro Lula