> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.europeans.today/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Lula wins fourth term after historic Brazil election comeback as far-right Bolsonaro refuses to concede - URL: https://www.europeans.today/2026/10/26/lula-wins-fourth-term-after-historic-brazil-election-comeback-as-far-right-bolsonaro-refuses-to-concede/ - Published: 2026-10-26T04:21:44.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-26T04:22:01.000Z - Description: Lula overturned a 2.2 million-vote first-round deficit after rebuilding his campaign and mobilising millions more voters. Flávio Bolsonaro rejected the result and said he would seek to have it annulled. - Author: TODAY - Tags: 2026 Brazil Presidential Elections, Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Flávio Bolsonaro, Democracy in Brazil, Brazil Elections, South America, Brazil Politics, STF (Brazil Supreme Court), Far-Right 🔍 WHY THIS STORY MATTERS Brazil’s election reshapes South America’s political balance, preserves Lula’s climate and foreign-policy direction, and immediately tests democratic institutions after far-right Flávio Bolsonaro refused to concede a 4.43 million-vote defeat. --- KEY TAKEAWAYS... ● Left-wing Lula became the first presidential candidate in Brazil’s modern democratic era to lose the first round and win the runoff. ● He added more than 10.3 million votes between rounds after overhauling his campaign, digital strategy, and message. ● Far-right Flávio Bolsonaro refused to recognise the result and said he would seek annulment over a Supreme Court’s late extension of voting. ● Lula won the presidency but faces a strengthened right in Congress and difficult negotiations over his fourth-term programme. --- L uiz Inácio Lula da Silva (known as Lula) has won a fourth term as president of Brazil after achieving something no presidential candidate had done since the country returned to democracy: finish second in the first round and then win the runoff. The 80-year-old president defeated far-right senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of imprisoned former president Jair Bolsonaro, after entering the second round more than 2.2 million votes behind. With the count completed, Brazil’s electoral authorities confirmed [Lula on 51.79% against Bolsonaro’s 48.21%](https://apnews.com/article/e2c9fe8fc4aa3e3675b9a8ec15405d93?ref=europeans.today). Lula received 64,256,232 votes, against 59,826,041 votes for Bolsonaro, a margin of 4,430,191 votes. Three weeks earlier, the position had been reversed. Bolsonaro won the first round with 56,104,503 votes (47.03%), against Lula’s 53,879,538 (45.16%). Lula therefore entered the runoff 2,224,965 votes behind. By the second round, Lula had added 10,376,694 votes to his total. Bolsonaro added 3,721,538. No candidate who finished second in Brazil’s first presidential round had previously [gone on to win the runoff](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/26/lula-wins-brazil-election?ref=europeans.today) since the restoration of democracy. ### A different campaign for the second round The campaign that produced the reversal looked very different from the one that lost the first round. According to [Brazilian reporting](https://oglobo.globo.com/politica/eleicoes-2026/especial/lula-e-reeleito-presidente-do-brasil-apos-virada-inedita-contra-flavio-bolsonaro.ghtml?ref=europeans.today), Lula reorganised an operation he himself had criticised as badly run. Camilo Santana took over campaign coordination, Rafael Fonteles reorganised communications and André Janones became central to a new digital offensive that included the WhatsApp channel “Exército do Lula”, which attracted more than 10 million members. Lula himself changed. After years of unease with social media, he began recording frequent vertical videos and communicating more directly online. The campaign moved towards immediate concerns such as working hours, debt and household finances. Lula also acknowledged government mistakes and accepted that voters had legitimate reasons to be dissatisfied. At the same time, Lula’s supporters returned visibly to the streets. Student demonstrations emerged immediately after the first-round defeat, followed by wider civil-society mobilisation. [Digital and street campaigning](https://apnews.com/article/952168b83c334f6a0c66a1540f1adf76?ref=europeans.today) intensified significantly during the runoff. The mobilisation ultimately showed up in the numbers. Abstention, which had been 21.08% in the first round, [fell to 19.22%.](https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/poder/2026/10/abstencao-e-votos-invalidos-tem-queda-recorde-no-2o-turno-das-eleicoes-presidenciais.shtml?ref=europeans.today) Nearly three million more Brazilians went to the polls, while blank and invalid ballots also declined. The figures cannot reveal how every individual voter changed their choice. Some of Lula’s additional support came from voters whose first-round candidates had been eliminated; others came from people who had abstained or previously cast blank or invalid ballots. But the overall movement is unmistakable: Lula gained more than 10.3 million votes between rounds, while Bolsonaro gained about 3.7 million. ### Lula victory speech After the victory, Lula himself presented the election as a lesson. > “We won this together with the Brazilian people,” he said, crediting Brazilian voters with the comeback. He said the campaign had taught him “many lessons” and promised: > “We are going to change the way we govern this country.” Lula said citizens would participate more in government decisions and digital communication would assume a much larger role during his fourth administration. He also characterised the result as a defeat for “denialism” and “lies”, while directing severe criticism at Bolsonaro. Those were Lula’s political descriptions of his opponent rather than independent findings. Lula also alleged that the campaign had needed to overcome outside “external interference” through digital platforms and called for stronger regulation of social networks. > “We cannot ignore the fact that crime in the digital world must be treated in the same way as crime in real life,” [he said](https://noticias.uol.com.br/ultimas-noticias/reuters/2026/10/25/lula-diz-que-venceu-intromissao-de-plataformas-digitais-e-promete-regulacao-apos-reeleito.htm?ref=europeans.today). Yet almost immediately, the celebrations became entangled in a dispute over an extraordinary intervention during the final hour of voting. ### Why the Supreme Court intervened Under [Brazil’s Electoral Code](https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/eleicoes/o-que-diz-o-codigo-eleitoral-sobre-estender-o-horario-da-votacao/?ref=europeans.today), voting was scheduled to end at 17:00 Brasília time, with people already waiting at polling stations still entitled to cast their ballots. The law does not explicitly provide for a general nationwide extension in an emergency. During the afternoon, Lula’s campaign complained that reduced public transport in several Brazilian states was making it difficult for voters to reach polling stations. Its initial requests to the electoral authorities concerned affected areas, including parts of Bahia and five other states. The campaign subsequently petitioned the Supreme Federal Court (STF), for voting to be extended nationwide until 19:00. Flávio Bolsonaro’s campaign also sought an extension.At about 16:40, it asked the electoral court to keep polling open until 19:00 in São Paulo, Paraná and Santa Catarina, citing severe weather and disruption to voters. CNN Brasil documented [the chronology of requests from both campaigns.](https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/eleicoes/votacao-prorrogada-veja-cronologia-que-levou-a-impasse-entre-stf-e-tse/?ref=europeans.today) The Electoral Public Prosecutor [opposed changing the statutory closing time](https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/eleicoes/mpe-foi-contra-extensao-da-votacao-ate-as-19h/?ref=europeans.today), arguing that the reported problems should be investigated and those responsible held accountable instead. At around 17:00, however, Supreme Court justice [Cristiano Zanin](https://jurinews.com.br/en/justica-eleitoral/nunes-marques-agrees-with-zanin-and-directs-the-closing-of-the-polls-at-7-pm-in-places-that-have-not-been-closed?ref=europeans.today) granted Lula’s nationwide request and ordered voting to continue until 19:00, citing the seriousness and urgency of the problems reported to the court. However, the decision came so late that it could not be implemented uniformly. Some polling stations had already closed their electronic machines and issued their final records. Once closed, those machines could not simply be switched back on to accept new votes. Zanin and electoral authorities therefore clarified that [the extension applied only where machines remained open.](https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/eleicoes/zanin-diz-que-adiamento-de-votacao-vale-para-urnas-que-nao-foram-fechadas/?ref=europeans.today) Reports described confusion between 17:00 and 18:00, including different procedures in different places. Both campaigns then urged supporters who still could [to vote during the additional period.](https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/eleicoes/flavio-e-lula-mobilizam-eleitor-para-ir-as-urnas-em-novo-prazo-da-eleicao/?ref=europeans.today) The episode therefore contains two separate facts. Both candidates believed genuine election-day disruptions justified extending voting somewhere. But Zanin’s decision went much further, imposing a nationwide extension so late that some polling stations could comply while others could not. That uneven implementation became the central argument behind Bolsonaro’s refusal to concede. ### Bolsonaro refuses to acknowledge his electoral defeat After Lula’s victory was confirmed, Bolsonaro called what had happened abnormal and unacceptable. > “What happened today was not normal. It was unacceptable.” He accused Zanin of changing the rules during the election: > “For the first time in history, an STF justice issues a stroke-of-the-pen ruling and changes the rules of the game.” Bolsonaro argued that the different treatment of polling stations violated equal treatment between voters. > “There was a complete breakdown in equal treatment between Brazilians in different states.” He then explicitly rejected the outcome: > **“The election should have been annulled. It is impossible to recognise the result.”** Bolsonaro said he would [seek annulment of the election.](https://g1.globo.com/politica/eleicoes/2026/noticia/2026/10/25/flavio-resultado-segundo-turno.ghtml?ref=europeans.today) His procedural objections can now be tested through Brazil’s courts. Whether Zanin’s intervention actually changed who won, however, is a different factual question. Lula’s margin was 4,429,907 votes. To attribute the outcome to the extension alone would require evidence that votes enabled by the additional period produced a net Lula advantage large enough to overcome that margin. **XTRA | How to attribute the outcome to the extension?** The full practical effect of the extension has yet to be quantified publicly. After the result, the TSE had not formally disclosed how many polling sections closed at the original 17:00 deadline and how many remained open receiving voters. TSE president Kassio Nunes Marques said the court had prevented the judicial intervention from altering the vote-totalisation process, despite the technical disruption it caused. A later breakdown of the sections that remained open could help establish the scale of additional voting, although votes recorded after 17:00 cannot automatically be attributed to the extension: under normal electoral rules, people already waiting in line at the original closing time were entitled to vote afterwards. Any assessment of whether the extension could have affected the result would therefore need to identify votes uniquely enabled by the additional period and compare their net effect with Lula’s \*\*4,430,191-vote margin\*\*. [**(SOURCE: FOLHA DE SAO PAULO)**](https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/poder/2026/10/kassio-diz-que-decisao-de-zanin-de-prorrogar-votacao-nao-provocou-nenhuma-alteracao-na-eleicao.shtml?ref=europeans.today) No verified evidence published so far establishes how many ballots were cast solely because of the extension, how those votes divided between the candidates, or anything approaching a 4.43 million-vote net effect. The intervention was extraordinary. Its timing was disruptive. Its uneven implementation is a legitimate subject for legal and institutional scrutiny. However, none of those facts, by itself, establishes that the certified result was wrong. ### Brazil’s next democratic test The dispute carries unusual weight because Brazil is still living with the consequences of its previous presidential election. Jair Bolsonaro, Flávio’s father, was convicted over an [attempted coup following his 2022 defeat to Lula.](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/11/jair-bolsonaro-conviction-attempted-coup-what-happens-next-explainer?ref=europeans.today) Flávio Bolsonaro’s announced judicial challenge is not equivalent to those events. Challenging an electoral decision in court is part of a constitutional system. The more consequential question is what happens after those legal challenges are decided, particularly given Flávio’s explicit declaration that it is “impossible” to recognise the result. Earlier, [Brazil’s Bar Association](https://www.oab.org.br/noticia/64722/nota-publica?ref=europeans.today) (OAB), had called for respect for “the popular will expressed at the ballot box” and said the elected president and vice-president must be proclaimed, certified and permitted to take office: > Public Statement | The Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) calls for respect for the will of the people as expressed at the ballot box. Once the counting of votes has been completed, the elected candidates must be officially declared, and those chosen by the people for the offices of President and Vice-President of the Republic must be formally certified and sworn into office. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/15/40/1540bec0-7154-4feb-b8e1-97f579155b08/content/images/2026/10/0000860bc.jpg) X/[OAB NATIONAL](https://x.com/CFOAB/status/2114500123225215453?s=20&ref=europeans.today) ### Lula won the presidency, not Congress Lula’s victory comes with another major constraint: Brazilian voters did not give him control of Congress. Bolsonaro’s far-right party will enter the new legislature with 121 deputies and 29 senators, while Lula’s party and its established left-wing allies remain substantially smaller. Other centre and centre-right parties that supported Bolsonaro in the second round also hold considerable power. Lula will therefore need to negotiate with parties outside the left to advance much of his programme. Constitutional amendments require 308 votes in the Chamber of Deputies and 49 in the Senate. The February 2027 elections for the leadership of both houses will consequently be an early battle over who controls the legislative agenda. Asked about the difficulty after winning, Lula said the electorate had chosen Congress, and he would work with it. > “The people chose Congress, and that is the Congress I will work with.” That sentence captures the contradiction at the centre of the election. Brazil returned Lula to the presidency. It did not give the left control of the Brazilian political system. Bolsonaro still received almost 60 million votes. His party strengthened its position in Congress. Lula defeated the candidate, not the movement. ### What it means beyond Brazil The result also has consequences across South America. Lula’s victory came amid a recent regional trend in which far-right candidates [aligned with US President Donald Trump had gained power.](https://apnews.com/article/e2c9fe8fc4aa3e3675b9a8ec15405d93?ref=europeans.today) Brazil and Mexico, Latin America’s two most populous countries, will remain under left-of-centre governments. The relationship with Washington also formed part of Brazil’s electoral choice. The Bolsonaro family has cultivated close political ties with Trump, while Lula has emphasised Brazilian sovereignty and a more independent foreign policy. US tariffs and Washington’s involvement in Brazilian politics became campaign issues. One Brazilian election cannot establish that the international far-right is broadly retreating. What it does provide is an important counter-example to the idea that the recent electoral momentum of Trump-aligned and nationalist right-wing and far-right movements is irreversible. Lula was behind. His campaign reorganised. Its message changed. Its digital strategy changed. Supporters returned to the streets. Participation increased. He gained more than 10 million additional votes. The consequences extend to climate policy too. Brazil’s decisions over the Amazon have global implications, and [Flávio Bolsonaro questioned human-caused climate change during the campaign](https://apnews.com/article/0ab5c798e84a3f3a3a5eb659a5ca0fac?ref=europeans.today) while advocating a markedly different environmental approach. Yet the strengthened conservative Congress could constrain Lula even in this area. ### The election delivered no simple ideological verdict It produced a left-of-centre president, a strengthened right in Congress, almost 60 million votes for Bolsonaro and an immediate legal challenge to the presidential result. What makes Lula’s victory historic is not that Brazil suddenly ceased to be divided. It is that a president who entered the runoff behind recognised that his campaign had failed, changed it rapidly and mobilised enough additional voters to produce an unprecedented comeback. What follows may prove just as consequential. Brazil must now adjudicate Bolsonaro’s challenge through its institutions. Lula must negotiate with a Congress largely outside his political camp. And government and opposition will have to determine whether one of the world’s largest democracies can keep its struggle for power within constitutional rules. Even Brazilian football entered that debate. Corinthians, the hugely popular São Paulo club Lula supports, congratulated the president after his victory and ended [its message](https://x.com/Corinthians/status/2114511160808787989?ref=europeans.today) with the words: > “Viva a democracia do Brasil.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/15/40/1540bec0-7154-4feb-b8e1-97f579155b08/content/images/2026/10/0000860bcd.jpg) X/[CORINTHIANS](https://x.com/Corinthians/status/2114511160808787989?ref=europeans.today) ──────────◌ EUROPEANS TODAY◌ 🔮 WHAT MATTERS NEXT... **🎯 WHAT TO WATCH NEXT:** ● Flávio Bolsonaro’s legal team is expected to formalise its challenge to the result and specify what evidence it believes supports annulment. ● Brazil’s courts will have to assess the legality and practical consequences of the last-minute extension of voting. ● Lula must begin negotiations with the strengthened centre and right ahead of the February 2027 leadership elections in Congress. ● Relations with Donald Trump’s administration, including trade tensions, will test Lula’s emphasis on Brazilian sovereignty. ● Environmental policy will depend not only on Lula’s government but on how much of its Amazon agenda can survive the new Congress. **🎯 MOST LIKELY OUTCOME:** ● The certified result remains operative while any challenge is litigated. **🎯 WHAT COULD CHANGE THE PICTURE:** ● Verified evidence that election-day irregularities materially affected the result, or a significant judicial ruling on the legality and consequences of the voting extension. **🎯 WHY THIS MATTERS:** ● Brazil’s ability to resolve the dispute through courts and constitutional institutions will matter far beyond one presidency in a period of growing international pressure on democratic norms. ────────── [SIGN UP NOW ](#/portal/signup) TO RECEIVE TOMORROW’S BRIEFING IN YOUR INBOX. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/15/40/1540bec0-7154-4feb-b8e1-97f579155b08/content/images/2021/09/end-flat-1.png) ### **GOING FURTHER** - ###### [Bolsonaro calls for Brazil election results to be ‘annulled’ after loss to Lula](https://apnews.com/article/e2c9fe8fc4aa3e3675b9a8ec15405d93?ref=europeans.today) | *ASSOCIATED PRESS* - ###### [Lula wins fourth term as Brazil president after historic upset over far-right Flávio Bolsonaro](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/26/lula-wins-brazil-election?ref=europeans.today) | *THE GUARDIAN* - ###### [Votação prorrogada: veja cronologia que levou a impasse entre STF e TSE](https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/eleicoes/votacao-prorrogada-veja-cronologia-que-levou-a-impasse-entre-stf-e-tse/?ref=europeans.today) | *CNN BRASIL* - ###### [O que diz o Código Eleitoral sobre estender o horário da votação?](https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/eleicoes/o-que-diz-o-codigo-eleitoral-sobre-estender-o-horario-da-votacao/?ref=europeans.today) | *CNN BRASIL* - ###### [Nota Pública](https://www.oab.org.br/noticia/64722/nota-publica?ref=europeans.today) | *ORDEM DOS ADVOGADOS DO BRASIL* - ###### [Lula conquistou mais de 10 milhões de novos votos no 2º turno, e Flávio cresceu apenas 3,6 milhões](https://oglobo.globo.com/politica/eleicoes-2026/noticia/2026/10/25/lula-conquistou-mais-de-10-milhoes-de-novos-votos-no-2o-turno-e-flavio-cresceu-apenas-36-milhoes.ghtml?ref=europeans.today) | *O GLOBO* - ###### [Brazil’s presidential race goes to second round as Flávio Bolsonaro leads incumbent Lula](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/05/brazil-presidential-race-election-result-second-round-lula-flavio-bolsonaro?ref=europeans.today) | *THE GUARDIAN* - ###### [Left-leaning leaders in the Americas welcome Lula’s victory in Brazil](https://apnews.com/article/48a6cc3d030ba2c5c52c757447a9e704?ref=europeans.today) | *ASSOCIATED PRESS* ### --- #### **Sources:** ###### ▪ This piece was first published in Europeans TODAY on 26 October 2026. ###### ▪ **Cover:** Screenshot of YouTube/Lula. ---