Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has won Brazil's presidential runoff with 51.74% of the vote, according to la Repubblica, defeating Flávio Bolsonaro, the 45-year-old far-right candidate and son of former president Jair Bolsonaro. The result was reported on Monday, 26 October 2026, after polls closed the previous evening. Flávio Bolsonaro is refusing to accept the outcome and has announced he will file a request to have the vote annulled.
Why it matters
The runoff settles a race that had left the country split almost evenly in the first round, when Flávio Bolsonaro took 47.03% of valid votes against 45.16% for Lula, according to la Repubblica. Lula's comeback from that deficit gives him a new mandate, but his opponent's challenge to the result means the contest is not closing quietly. The dispute also drew in US President Donald Trump, who disputed Lula's victory, according to la Repubblica.
A vote held under extended hours
Roughly 158.7 million citizens were eligible to cast ballots, la Repubblica reports. Polling stations were due to close at 17:00 local time, but the Supreme Court extended voting by two hours because of bad weather and because many voters could not reach their polling places. Brazil has used electronic voting since 1996, which allowed results to be produced soon after stations closed.
Speaking after the result, Lula said the outcome was historic and that he was moved, and he declared that his opponents' denialism and falsehoods had been defeated. He also said Brazil would not be anyone's backyard — "Non accettiamo di essere il cortile di nessuno" in the words quoted by la Repubblica.
Flávio Bolsonaro's campaign rejected the count. According to la Repubblica, he claimed that for the first time in history a judge had changed the rules while voting was under way. His father, Jair Bolsonaro, is serving a 27-year prison sentence for an attempted coup, la Repubblica reports.
Congratulations arrive from abroad
Reactions came in quickly from several capitals and institutions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated Lula on X, writing that the campaign had been intense and closely followed around the world. He said it mattered to Ukraine that Brazil remain active in international affairs and keep contributing to the protection of human rights and the rights of states, and thanked Brazil for its steady support of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Kremlin also welcomed the result. Spokesman Dmitri Peskov told reporters that Moscow was glad to see Lula win, citing his work on bilateral relations and on continuing processes within Brics and other organisations, and said Russia hoped those efforts would carry on.
European Council President António Costa congratulated Lula on X, describing the EU and Brazil as solid partners. He said he had spoken with Lula by phone the previous evening and that the two would keep working to strengthen ties and address global challenges.
Stefan Löfven, president of the Party of European Socialists, said the result showed that the future is written not by those who spread fear but by people who refuse to give up hope. The PSE said millions of Brazilians had made their voices heard and reminded the world of the power of democracy, which it said must be defended and renewed by each generation.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, speaking to the public broadcaster TVE, called Lula's win brilliant and democratic and noted it came by a margin of three million votes. He said the outcome showed that the only poll that counts is the one held on election day, a point he linked to Spain's own elections on 29 November. He described Brazil as a strategic partner of Spain and pointed to shared positions on multilateralism at the United Nations, democracy, free trade as reflected in the EU-Mercosur agreement, peace in Ukraine and the Middle East, and social progress for the most vulnerable.
Roberto Gualtieri, the mayor of Rome, congratulated "dear friend" Lula on X, calling the result a victory for hope and participation, especially among young people and women who he said had fought to defend democracy, the constitution and sovereignty.
What to watch
The immediate question is how Brazil's electoral authorities handle Flávio Bolsonaro's annulment request, and whether the international congratulations translate into a smooth transition.
