Lula Defeats Flavio Bolsonaro to Win Fourth Term as Brazil’s President

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has won a fourth presidential term after defeating Senator Flávio Bolsonaro in the country’s runoff election on Sunday, October 25. The Superior Electoral Court declared the incumbent the winner after his lead became mathematically unassailable.

With nearly all polling stations counted, Lula secured 51.76 percent of valid votes, while Bolsonaro got 48.24 percent. The result gave the Workers’ Party leader a lead of more than four million votes.

Lula reversed the outcome of the October 4 first round, when Bolsonaro finished ahead with 47.03 percent to his 45.16 percent. Neither candidate secured the majority required for an outright victory, taking the contest to a second ballot.

The victory makes Lula the first Brazilian elected president four times. He also became the first candidate since the introduction of the current two-round presidential system in 1989 to win the runoff after finishing second in the opening round.

Lula previously governed from 2003 to 2010 and returned to office in 2023 after defeating then-President Jair Bolsonaro in the 2022 election. His latest opponent is the former president’s eldest son, a senator representing Rio de Janeiro.

Living costs, public safety and social assistance featured prominently in the campaign. Lula defended his government’s welfare programmes, while Bolsonaro sought support for a tougher approach to crime and a change in leadership.

Election day was disrupted by transport difficulties and severe weather, prompting requests from both camps for additional voting time. Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin ordered a two-hour extension, delaying the counting process.