Lula in historic victory as Bolsonaro rejects result: ‘Brazil is no one’s backyard’ — by Okoi Obono-Obla

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, 80, has been re-elected for a historic fourth term in a presidential runoff held on 25 October 2026.

According to official results released by Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Lula secured 51.78% of valid votes, defeating right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, who received 48.21%. The margin was about 4.4 million votes, overturning a first-round deficit where Bolsonaro had led.

The 45-year-old Flávio Bolsonaro, eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, has refused to concede defeat. In a statement in Brasília, he said: “It is impossible to recognize the election result given how these events unfolded. We will take legal action. We will ask for this election to be annulled”. His campaign cited a last-minute ruling by Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin – Lula’s former personal lawyer appointed to the Court – extending voting by two hours due to transport incidents.

Flávio is the son of Jair Bolsonaro, who was defeated by Lula in the rancorous 2022 election. Jair Bolsonaro was later convicted of plotting a military coup after his supporters ransacked Congress and Supreme Court buildings on 8 January 2023. In September 2025, he was sentenced to 27 years in prison, which he is currently serving.

Lula himself suffered a similar reversal in 2018 when he was convicted of corruption and spent more than 580 days in prison. That conviction was annulled in 2021 after evidence showed judicial bias.

Lula’s re-election comes as a major relief for the left, as right-of-center presidents have been winning across Latin America since April 2025, including in Ecuador, Bolivia, Honduras and Chile, amid the second term of U.S. President Donald Trump.

In his post-victory speech in São Paulo, Lula leaned heavily on the theme of sovereignty. “Either the homeland remains free, or we die for Brazil,” he said. “This country will not accept being anyone’s backyard”.