Lula Won With About 51.7 Percent and Gets a Fourth Term From January 5, While Flavio Bolsonaro Demands the Election Be Annulled
The margin is about 4.4 million votes. Bolsonaro did not concede, and the electoral court says the extension of voting did not affect the outcome.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won the second round of the presidential election in Brazil on October 25 against Senator Flavio Bolsonaro. According to the electoral court, Lula won about 51.7 percent of the vote, Bolsonaro about 48.2 percent, and the margin is about 4.4 million votes (with 99.77 percent of polling sections counted at the time of the first report). That brings him a fourth term starting on January 5, 2027. Flavio Bolsonaro is the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro.
What happened after the vote. Flavio Bolsonaro refused to concede defeat and demanded the result be annulled, citing confusion at some polling stations. That confusion came after a two-hour extension of voting, approved shortly before polling stations were due to close at the request of both candidates.
What the court says. The president of the Superior Electoral Court, Kassio Nunes Marques, said the extension did not affect the outcome. Legal experts, as reported, doubt that Bolsonaro has sufficient grounds for annulment.
Opposing explanations. Lula cites transport problems in Sao Paulo and Salvador, while Bolsonaro points to heavy rain in the south of the country. These are statements by the two sides, not established causes.
Polls and the result. Polls published by Al Jazeera on October 15 and 16 showed a slight lead for Bolsonaro. The outcome was the opposite, with a margin of about 3.5 percentage points for Lula. In the first round on October 4, Bolsonaro had more votes, but not enough for an outright win.
The international side. According to the Times of Israel of November 1, Donald Trump said Flavio Bolsonaro can stay in the US as long as he likes and that he has no plans to meet him. The vote took place amid concern about the cost of living, public security and Brazil’s relations with the US.
How narrow the margin is. With a margin of about 3.5 percentage points, Lula won more convincingly than in 2022, when according to official results he took 50.9 percent, with a lead of about 2.1 million votes. Under Brazilian rules, the president is elected with more than half of the valid votes, and if nobody gets that in the first round, the top two go to a second round. The margin is now about twice as large in votes, but the result is still close.
What is unclear. The sources we checked do not say whether Bolsonaro formally filed a complaint with the court or what deadline the court has to decide. They also give no data on the composition of Congress, and on it depends how much Lula will be able to implement policies.
What to follow. Whether Bolsonaro files a formal appeal with the electoral court, the final official results and the composition of Congress, and whether demonstrations by his supporters grow before the inauguration on January 5.
MKNews Hub · Macedonia · November 2, 2026
