Lula secures fourth Brazilian term with 51.79 percent of vote

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has won a fourth term in office, defeating right-wing challenger Flávio Bolsonaro in the runoff election held on Sunday.

Lula captured 51.79 percent of the total vote, while Bolsonaro received 48.21 percent. This margin represents a difference of 4.4 million votes between the two candidates. The result makes Lula the first Brazilian president to secure a fourth term since the country returned to civilian rule in 1985. His new term is set to begin on 5 January and will run until 2030.

The victory followed a dramatic procedural dispute that led the Supreme Court to extend polling hours by two hours on the evening of the vote. Both campaigns requested the extension for different reasons. Lula’s team argued that a lack of buses in São Paulo and Bahia prevented voters from reaching polling stations. Senator Bolsonaro’s campaign cited heavy rainfall in the south and São Paulo as the cause. The decision was issued by Supreme Court President Kassio Nunes Marques just as polls were scheduled to close. Some stations had already shut down and could not reopen, but Marques confirmed the extension did not affect the final count or the integrity of the electoral process.

The outcome reversed the trend from the first round on 4 October, when Bolsonaro led Lula with 47 percent of the vote against 45 percent. Lula’s campaign focused on reducing voter abstention in the final weeks. Data shows a record drop in non-voters between the two rounds, a shift not seen since 1989. Thirty-three million people had abstained from voting in the first round.

Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, has refused to recognize the result. He called for the vote to be annulled, describing the comeback as inexplicable and impossible. Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence for a convicted coup attempt, had prepared a victory speech before the final counts. Electoral law experts consider the chances of annulment to be remote. Fernando Neisser of the Institute of Lawyers of São Paulo noted the large margin makes a legal challenge difficult. Alberto Rollo added that constitutional dates for presidential elections add further complications to any attempt to overturn the result.

Lula, who turns 81 on Tuesday, addressed supporters in São Paulo after the count. He described the election as a loss for negativity and lies. He stated that this fourth term will be the best in the country's history and that he will listen most closely to the Brazilian people. Vice President Geraldo Alckmin told him that he had saved Brazilian democracy for the second time.

The win positions Lula against a backdrop of international tension, particularly with US President Donald Trump, who has supported the senior Bolsonaro. Lula used his speech to reject what Trump has called the Donroe Doctrine, asserting that Brazil will not accept being anyone's backyard. Other world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, have congratulated Lula on the victory.