Brazil Election 2026: Lula Wins a Historic Fourth Term

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has won Brazil's presidential runoff and a fourth term, completing a comeback after trailing in the first round. Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE) declared the 80-year-old leftist the winner on Sunday night, Oct. 25, 2026, over right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro. The result was the top story on Google News on Monday, Oct. 26. We stick here to the official results and what each side has said.

Brazil election results

With all polling stations counted, Lula received 51.79% of valid votes and Bolsonaro 48.21%, according to TSE figures reported by the BBC. That is a margin of about 4.4 million votes, out of roughly 124 million valid votes. Official, station-level results are published on the TSE results site.

Sources: first round, Anadolu Agency; runoff, TSE figures via the BBC and Portal O Norte.

Why it is historic

• First fourth term. Lula previously served two terms from January 2003 to December 2010 and a third starting in January 2023. The BBC reports he is the first president in Brazil's history to win a fourth term.
• First comeback of its kind. He is also the first president since Brazil's return to civilian rule in 1985 to be elected after losing the first round, according to the BBC. In the Oct. 4 vote, Bolsonaro finished ahead, 47.03% to 45.16%.
• Age. Lula turns 81 on Tuesday, Oct. 27, the BBC notes. The new term runs four years.

In his victory speech, Lula told supporters his win was a "loss for negativity, lies," and added, "long live democracy," the BBC reported. World leaders congratulated him on Monday.

The dispute over extended voting hours

Bolsonaro has not recognized the result. His objection centers on an unprecedented order by Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin to extend voting nationwide by two hours, until 7 p.m. Brasília time, at polling stations that were still operating. Some of Bolsonaro's supporters point out that Zanin was once Lula's lawyer.

Here are the facts both sides agree on, based on reporting by the BBC and Brazilian outlets:

• Both campaigns asked for more time. Lula's campaign cited a lack of buses for voters in São Paulo and Bahia. Bolsonaro's campaign cited heavy rain and asked for extensions in municipalities in Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná, Santa Catarina and São Paulo, according to Portal O Norte.
• The number of late votes was small. TSE data cited by the same outlet show 35,521 votes were recorded after 5 p.m., compared with a winning margin of about 4.4 million.
• The court's view. TSE President Kássio Nunes Marques, who was appointed by Jair Bolsonaro, confirmed Lula's victory and said the extension did not change the outcome, the BBC reported.

On Sunday night, Bolsonaro said he would seek to annul the election. By Monday, Brazilian news site R7 reported that he had dropped the annulment plan after advisers pointed to legal obstacles and would instead file an electoral case accusing Lula's ticket of abuse of economic and political power. In a video posted Monday, Bolsonaro criticized Zanin's decision and said its impact needed to be "clarified." No court has ruled on any new filing.

Why Americans are searching for it

Brazil's runoff led Google News' top stories on Oct. 26. American readers searched for the result, for the identity of Flávio Bolsonaro, and for an explanation of the voting-hours fight, which drew comparisons in coverage to Jair Bolsonaro's own refusal to accept defeat. As the BBC put it, the son's rejection "comes as no surprise to observers. His father did the same." With the U.S. midterm elections a week away and Israel voting on Oct. 27, it is a busy stretch for election news around the world.

What the institutions have said

• TSE President Kássio Nunes Marques said after the result that he had "total confidence in the electoral process," according to Portal O Norte, which also reported that officials at both courts privately acknowledged the two courts had handled the voting-hours episode imperfectly.
• Supreme Court President Edson Fachin stressed the importance of respecting the will of voters, Estadão reported.
• Transport problems behind Lula's request included reduced bus fleets, missing vehicles and improper fare charges in some cities, according to Portal O Norte.

What's next

1. Any legal challenge. If Bolsonaro files a case alleging abuse of power, it would go to Brazil's electoral courts. According to the Estadão newspaper, justices on the TSE and the Supreme Court privately see no basis to annul the vote. That is reporting on their views, not a ruling.
2. Certification and transition. The TSE has already proclaimed the result. The government's transition into the new term follows over the next two months.
3. A new inauguration date. Lula will be sworn in on Jan. 5, 2027, not Jan. 1. As g1 explains, Constitutional Amendment 111, passed in 2021, moved the date, and this is the first time it applies. State governors take office on Jan. 6.
4. Governing. After a bitter campaign, Lula starts the new term with significant constraints at home, including a divided electorate, the BBC notes.

Bolsonaro's challenge, by the numbers

Bolsonaro's challenge rests on the 35,521 votes cast after 5 p.m., a tiny fraction of a 4.4 million-vote margin. Both campaigns asked for that extension, and the electoral court's president, a Jair Bolsonaro appointee, says it didn't change the outcome. Unless a court rules otherwise, Brazil's first four-term president is sworn in on Jan. 5.

Closer to home, our News section is following the record Four Corners flooding in the American Southwest.