Lula wins fourth term in Brazil with 51.8% vote

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won Brazil’s presidency with 51.8% of the vote on Sunday, securing a fourth term, Euronews reported in an Oct. 26 news article.

The Oct. 26 article said Lula finished almost 4.4 million ballots ahead of Flávio Bolsonaro, keeping Latin America’s largest economy on a course resistant to U.S. President Donald Trump’s demands.

Bolsonaro, a senator, declined to accept defeat and said he would seek to annul the result. His objection followed disorder at some polling stations after officials prolonged voting by two hours shortly before polls closed, according to Euronews.

"It is impossible to recognise the results. I am going to request the annulment of these elections," Bolsonaro said in Brasília, according to the report.

Lula had sought more voting time after complaining that bus services had been withdrawn in several cities, preventing citizens from reaching polling sites. "People went to vote because we managed to convince them that voting was very important for ensuring democracy in the country," Lula said after the win.

Bolsonaro also asked for extra time in some areas because of heavy rain, but later called the extension "unacceptable" and a "dirty trick," Euronews reported. The article did not report an official ruling on Bolsonaro’s annulment request or give a timetable for handling it.

The result reversed Lula’s first-round defeat. Euronews said no Brazilian presidential candidate had lost the first round and then won the runoff since direct presidential elections resumed in 1989, after military rule ended.

Turnout also moved in Lula’s favour. The abstention rate fell to 19% in the runoff from 21% in the first round, according to Euronews.

The election cuts against a regional pattern described by Euronews as victories for right-of-center presidential candidates aligned with Trump in Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru. The article said Lula’s win also means Brazil is likely to keep resisting U.S. pressure despite higher tariffs, though it did not specify tariff rates.

Lula’s campaign put sovereignty at the centre of its message during a period of commercial and diplomatic pressure from Washington. "Either the homeland remains free, or we die for Brazil," Lula told supporters. "This country will not accept being anyone’s backyard," he said.

Flávio Bolsonaro is the son of Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year jail term for attempting a coup after losing to Lula in 2022, Euronews reported. Lula first became president in 2003, won re-election in 2006 and returned to office in 2022 after corruption charges that had led to more than 18 months in prison were annulled on procedural grounds.

Euronews said Lula’s third term included lower inflation and unemployment and a reduction in hunger, while voters remained concerned about living costs and crime. Lula, 81, would be 85 by the end of the new term in 2030.

Source: news article, Euronews, Oct. 26, 2026