Lula Wins Fourth Term in Tight Brazilian Runoff Against Flavio Bolsonaro

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has won a fourth non-consecutive term in office after a narrow victory over right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro in the country's presidential runoff, held on Sunday.

Figures from Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE) show Lula taking 51.78 percent of valid votes, against 48.22 percent for his challenger. The result was confirmed late on Sunday night.

Voting was disrupted across the country by heavy rain and technical problems. Polls, which were due to close at 7pm local time (10pm GMT), stayed open for two additional hours.

Bolsonaro said he would challenge the outcome, pointing to that two-hour extension, which was approved by the Supreme Court. "We will engage our legal team and seek to have these elections annulled," he said. "I will not accept that the rules of the game have been arbitrarily changed, once again, by Lula's friends on the Federal Supreme Court."

His position sits uneasily with reports that both campaigns asked for the extension. According to those accounts, the request cited the downpours and transport disruption that kept some voters from reaching their polling stations.

The result is also a first in modern Brazilian history. Lula is the first presidential candidate to lose the opening round of voting and then prevail in the second. His win cuts against a regional trend toward right-wing politics, with conservative governments having taken power in several Latin American countries. He is due to begin his new term on 5 January 2027.

Lula has built his political record around closer cooperation with emerging economies and a defense of national sovereignty. In office he has prioritized poverty reduction, social spending and environmental protection. Unlike Bolsonaro, he has long criticized Israel and the United States, calling for Palestinian statehood, and he has supported stronger ties with Iran and China.

Addressing supporters after the result, Lula promised to "make a commitment" and said he "will deliver the best term any president has ever served." He added: "I will dedicate myself 24 hours a day to making this the country that everyone dreams of."

Sovereignty featured prominently in his remarks. "In this election, we defeated the interference that was coming from the outside in," he said. "Brazil is no one's back yard."

Congratulations have come from a number of leaders and public figures, among them Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, United States Senator Bernie Sanders and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, along with other leaders from across the region.