Lula secures fourth term with 64.2 million votes

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva secured his fourth term as president of Brazil with 64.2 million votes on Sunday. This total represented 51.79 percent of the national vote, defeating Flávio Bolsonaro, who received 59.8 million votes or 48.21 percent of the total. The margin of victory exceeded four million votes, a figure that surpasses the gap Lula achieved against his father Jair Bolsonaro in 2022.

The result reversed the trajectory from the first round held on October 4. Flávio Bolsonaro led that initial count by two points, a gap that appeared insurmountable to pollsters. No major survey predicted a final lead of nearly four points for the incumbent. The reversal occurred despite a right-wing victory in the recent legislative elections.

Flávio Bolsonaro has filed for an annulment of the election results in the judiciary. The legal challenge centers on a judicial order that extended voting hours by two hours nationwide. This extension was granted by Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin, a former lawyer for Lula, one minute after the standard closing time. Flávio Bolsonaro stated in a press conference in Brasília that the rule change was a total violation of the right to equality for Brazilian voters.

The Workers’ Party argued that the extended hours benefited the incumbent’s base. The party claimed that in cities controlled by the right, insufficient free bus services were deployed to transport voters. These voters, often from lower-income groups, tend to support the left. Kassio Nunes Marques, president of the Superior Electoral Court, acknowledged that the delayed order caused technical, operational, and security difficulties during the count.

Lula addressed supporters in São Paulo on Avenida Paulista, where tens of thousands gathered to celebrate. The reelected president thanked young voters for defending democracy and older citizens for reducing the high abstention rates seen in the first round. He described the election as a defense of Brazil’s status as a central, not peripheral, player in global affairs, rejecting what he called an attempt to make the nation a backyard to the United States.

The victory was recognized by congressional leaders Hugo Motta and Davi Alcolumbre, both allies of the president. Lula now faces the task of governing with the most right-leaning Congress in Brazilian history. At nearly 81 years old, the former union leader credited his campaign’s focus on social media and warnings of authoritarianism for the late surge in support.