Lula Reclaims Brazilian Presidency With 51.79% Of Vote

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been declared president of Brazil for a fourth time, taking 51.79% of the vote against senator Flávio Bolsonaro's 48.21%. The electoral authority announced the result shortly after midnight UK time on October 26, 2026.

The margin across 159 million voters was about 4.3 million ballots. Lula framed the count as "a defeat for denialism". Flávio Bolsonaro leads the movement founded by his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving 27 years in prison for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election.

This reverses the first round earlier this month, when Bolsonaro polled 56.1 million votes against Lula's 53.8 million, or 47.03% to 45.16%. Since Brazil returned to democracy in 1985, no runner-up in round one had ever taken the runoff. Polling narrowed sharply in the weeks between the two votes.

Turnout data from the first round showed abstention at 21%, concentrated among lower-income voters who lean toward Lula. Progressive groups organized mobilization drives. Millions subscribed to a WhatsApp channel called "Lula's army" that distributed daily instructions on making supportive content circulate.

Lula, who got his first smartphone recently, began posting on Instagram and TikTok, and his reach there passed Bolsonaro's for the first time. The Bolsonaro campaign drew on evangelical support, anger over urban crime, and social media. It also absorbed reporting from magazine Piauí, which said Flávio Bolsonaro attended a 2020 boat party with sex workers and vaccine lobbyists. Twelve watchdog and research groups published reports alleging Meta may have favored his campaign. Brazil's electoral court barred Meta from giving candidates "unequal treatment"; Meta called the claims "false and unfunded". [sic: source says "false and unfounded" corrected in final]

United States politics touched the race. President Donald Trump did not endorse Bolsonaro publicly, but he called Jair Bolsonaro's trial a "witch-hunt" and set 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports. Lula has described his own posture as resistance to Trump's "colonial" aims, and he has built ties across the US, China, and Russia. He also declined invitations to join a Latin American coalition running military operations against drug cartels with the Pentagon.

Amazon deforestation has fallen more than 70% under Lula, and his government has pursued illegal mining and backed Indigenous communities. Tom Phillips, Guardian Latin America correspondent, said environment came up only in the final presidential debate, while voters weighed the economy, public security, and culture war issues. The next congress includes a record number of rightwing members opposed to Indigenous rights and environmental causes.

Flávio Bolsonaro has not conceded, pointing to the decision to extend voting by two hours, an extension both campaigns had requested for separate reasons. He said it was "impossible to concede the election result". Phillips said he does not expect the challenge to succeed, since world leaders are already recognising Lula's win, and suggested Bolsonaro may travel to the United States to avoid ongoing criminal investigations. Lula turns 81 on Tuesday.