Lula elected Brazil’s president for a fourth time: election results

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been elected president of Brazil for the fourth time, the country’s Superior Electoral Court announced. The left-wing president defeated Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who had won the first round. The margin was narrow.

Lula has already served two consecutive terms as president, in 2003–2011. He has led South America’s most populous country again since 1 January 2023, and his new mandate will begin in early 2027.

Earlier, the country’s Supreme Court extended voting by two hours. It granted a request from the incumbent president: his campaign team had complained that the authorities in a number of cities had restricted voters’ access to public transport. Polling stations were originally due to close at 5 p.m. (9 p.m. Central European Time).

“Given the gravity of the situation and the urgency of taking this measure, I order the opening hours of polling stations across the country to be extended by two hours, until 7 p.m.,” Judge Cristiano Zanin said, according to AFP.

Lula’s team reported that in cities such as São Paulo in the southeast and Salvador in the northeast, buses were taken off their routes. After the polls finally closed, the counting of votes in the second round continued. Interim results began to appear on the Superior Electoral Court’s website.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz