Lula Wins Fourth Term in Brazil After Comeback Runoff Victory Over Flávio Bolsonaro

Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been re-elected to a fourth term, completing a dramatic comeback against right-wing challenger Flávio Bolsonaro in the runoff held on Sunday. Lula received 51.79% of the vote to Bolsonaro's 48.21%, a gap of 4.4 million votes.

The left-wing leader is the first president since the return to civilian rule in 1985 to win an election after finishing behind in the first round. Bolsonaro, the son of convicted former president Jair Bolsonaro, had led the first round on 4 October with 47% to Lula's 45%.

Lula's campaign built momentum in the weeks that followed, concentrating on getting more people to the polls after 33 million voters stayed home in the first round. Sunday recorded the largest fall in abstention between the two rounds of a presidential election since 1989.

Polling hours were also extended by two hours on Sunday evening, an unprecedented step taken after both campaigns made separate requests. Lula's team said voters in São Paulo and Bahia could not reach polling stations because of a shortage of buses. Senator Bolsonaro's campaign pointed to heavy rain in parts of southern Brazil and in São Paulo. The Supreme Court issued its decision just as polls were due to close, so some stations had already shut and could not reopen. Court President Kassio Nunes Marques, who was appointed by the elder Bolsonaro, confirmed Lula's win and said the extension caused no problems for the count or the electoral process.

Speaking to celebrating crowds in São Paulo, Lula called the result a "loss for negativity, lies" and later said "long live democracy". The former metal worker promised that his fourth term "will be the best of any president in the history of this country" and "the one in which I listen most to the Brazilian people." Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin told him: "You, for the second time, have saved Brazilian democracy."

Flávio Bolsonaro, who had been preparing to give a victory speech, instead called the outcome "inexplicable" and "impossible" and said it should be annulled. He has so far declined to recognise the result. Electoral law experts told BBC Brasil that annulment is very unlikely. Fernando Neisser of the Institute of Lawyers of São Paulo said it would be "difficult from a legal standpoint" given the relatively large margin. Expert Alberto Rollo noted that presidential election dates are fixed by the constitution, adding a further obstacle.

Lula turns 81 on Tuesday. He previously served two terms from January 2003 to December 2010 and returned to office in January 2023. He is the first person in Brazilian history to win a fourth term, which is due to begin on 5 January and run until 2030.

The new term begins under significant constraints at home and abroad, including hostility from US President Donald Trump. Referring to Trump's so-called "Donroe Doctrine", which seeks US dominance in the Western Hemisphere, Lula said Brazil "will not accept being anyone's backyard". Trump has previously backed Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence for a coup attempt after losing the 2022 election to Lula. Flávio Bolsonaro met Trump at the White House earlier this year to seek his support. Trump has not yet reacted to the result.

Lula's win runs against a regional trend in which voters in Argentina, Chile and Colombia have brought right-wing candidates and parties to power. Other world leaders have been quick to congratulate him. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said "democracy and multilateralism" had won, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said "the comeback of global progressivism has just begun". French President Emmanuel Macron spoke of working "in service of a more just world", while South African President Cyril Ramaphosa described the result as a victory for the "global south and progressive forces throughout the world". Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa Azin said the region has "common enemies, shared challenges, and much to gain when we work together."