Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has won Brazil's presidential runoff, defeating right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro to secure a fourth non-consecutive term, the country's electoral authority said on Sunday. Reuters reported the result shortly after midnight UK time on Monday, 26 October, as the count neared completion.

A close count that swung late

The Superior Electoral Court count, as displayed at 21:11 Brasilia time on 25 October with 99.75% of polling sections processed, put Lula on 51.75% of valid votes against 48.25% for Bolsonaro. Polling firm Datafolha had already projected a Lula victory before the count finished. Earlier in the evening the partial count had briefly shown Bolsonaro ahead, a reminder that early returns from different regions can move sharply as more sections report. The first round on 4 October had finished the other way round, with Bolsonaro on 47.03% and Lula on 45.16%, neither reaching the majority needed to win outright.

What happens next

Lula, of the Workers' Party, campaigned on social programmes, support for household incomes and national sovereignty, while Bolsonaro, of the Liberal Party and the eldest son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, centred his campaign on tougher action against organised crime and a conservative agenda. The next president takes office on 5 January 2027, according to election-night reporting. The result is a certified electoral outcome only once the electoral authority completes its formal process; the figures quoted here are the near-complete count and the Datafolha projection reported on election night.

Sources: Reuters; Brazil's Superior Electoral Court count as reported on election night.