Lula wins Brazil runoff with 51.79%, Bolsonaro son refuses to concede

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won the country's presidential runoff on October 25, 2026, securing 51.79 percent of valid votes compared to 48.21 percent for Liberal Party candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro. With 99.99 percent of votes counted according to Brazil's Superior Electoral Court, Lula will be sworn in for a fourth four-year term on January 5, 2027. This marks the first time a Brazilian president has been elected to four terms through popular vote.

Lula's victory came after Bolsonaro finished ahead in the first round held October 4 with approximately 47 percent to Lula's 45 percent, forcing a runoff since neither reached the 50-percent threshold. In his victory speech in São Paulo, Lula emphasized that Brazil is "nobody's backyard" and will treat all nations equally, addressing what he described as foreign interference in the election through digital platforms. He called for stronger regulation of digital platforms and outlined plans to develop autonomous artificial intelligence, strengthen education including full-day schooling through high school, and invest in renewable energy and data centers.

Flávio Bolsonaro refused to concede, calling the results "impossible" to recognize and demanding the election's annulment. He made the statement from Brasília after learning of his defeat. The election saw record-low abstention rates and blank votes in Brazilian history, according to Lula's speech.

Lula, born in October 1945 in northeastern Brazil, emerged as a trade union leader in the 1970s and co-founded the Workers' Party in 1980. He was elected Brazil's first working-class president in 2002 with a landslide victory and was re-elected in 2006. His presidency ended with investigations under Operation Car Wash, resulting in convictions on corruption charges. Brazil's Supreme Federal Court annulled all convictions against him in March 2021. He returned to politics in 2022 and defeated then-President Jair Bolsonaro, becoming the first Brazilian president elected to three terms through popular vote.

In his speech, Lula thanked young voters and elderly voters for their participation in defending democracy, and outlined policy priorities including healthcare system improvements, environmental protection—noting four consecutive years of reduced deforestation—and religious freedom. He stated he would work with the newly elected Congress, which observers noted had become more conservative, to advance legislative priorities.