Tight presidential race ends in Brazil – Lula wins as Bolsonaro plans legal challenge

Brazil’s incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has won Sunday’s presidential election runoff, according to the final election results.With all votes counted, left-wing candidate Lula secured 51.8% of the vote, while right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro received 48.2%. Lula won approximately 4.4 million more votes than his opponent.Lula, who will turn 81 on Tuesday, has served as Brazil’s president since 2023 and previously held office from 2003 to 2010. He is due to be inaugurated for another four-year term in January.Bolsonaro announced that he would challenge the election results in court after the Supreme Court extended voting hours nationwide by two hours at the request of Lula’s campaign.The request was based on delays in transporting voters to polling stations by bus in São Paulo and Salvador, two cities where Lula enjoys strong support.Bolsonaro’s campaign had also requested extended polling hours in several locations in southern Brazil, where flooding caused by heavy rainfall and power outages disrupted voting. Bolsonaro has stronger support in the country’s southern regions.Flávio Bolsonaro, 45, has served as a senator since 2019.His father, Jair Bolsonaro, was Brazil’s president from 2019 to 2022, when he lost the presidential election to Lula.Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison for plotting a coup following his electoral defeat and is currently under house arrest because of his health condition.In the first round of the presidential election on 4 October, Flávio Bolsonaro received 47% of the vote, while Lula secured 45%.The election campaign focused primarily on crime, the role of the state, the independence of the Supreme Court and Brazil’s relations with the United States.Lula, representing the Workers’ Party, intends to continue his government’s social programmes and public investment policies while maintaining a strong role for the state.Flávio Bolsonaro, representing the Liberal Party, advocates reducing government services and adopting tougher measures to combat crime.