Lula Wins 51% to 48% Run-off, Securing Record Fourth Brazilian Term

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will remain Brazil's president after winning Sunday's run-off with more than 51 percent of the vote against Senator Flavio Bolsonaro's 48 percent. Electoral authorities declared the result with about 98.76 percent of ballots counted. The 80-year-old has secured a record fourth non-consecutive term.

The outcome reversed a first-round loss on October 4, when Bolsonaro finished with 47.03 percent against Lula's 45.16 percent. That gap amounted to 2.2 million votes. No candidate in modern Brazilian history has previously placed second in the opening round and then won the run-off.

On Sunday evening, Bolsonaro led briefly as counting began. Lula then moved ahead as results arrived from the northeast, where the Workers' Party has long held support. Bolsonaro's strength lies in the south, southeast and centre-west regions. Polls had put the two men near even in the final days.

Voting hours were extended on the day. Stations were scheduled to close at 5pm Brasilia time, and Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin ordered them to remain open until 7pm. The order reached some stations only after they had shut down machines. Zanin later said closed stations would stay closed. Some voters were turned away despite the extension.

Both campaigns requested more time. Lula's team said local officials cut public transport in several cities, while Bolsonaro's campaign pointed to heavy rain and flooding. In Minas Gerais, the regional electoral court reported that 349 polling places lost power, though machines ran on backup batteries, according to local media. Brazil's Federal Police are examining alleged transport disruptions in five states, and a court in Salvador ordered the arrest of the city's transport secretary over claims he directed bus service cuts.

Bolsonaro has said he will seek to annul the vote and accused Zanin of judicial malfeasance. "He changes the rules of the game mid-game," he said. He also noted that Zanin served as Lula's personal lawyer before Lula appointed him to the Supreme Court in 2023. "It is impossible to recognise the results of the election," Bolsonaro told supporters.

Turnout may have shaped the result. Andrei Roman, head of polling firm AtlasIntel, cited lower abstention as one factor in Lula's win. In the first round, an estimated 33.4 million Brazilians, about 21 percent of the electorate, did not vote, the highest abstention rate in a general election since 1998. Lula also promised to pursue free public transport on weekends.

Lula built his campaign around Brazilian sovereignty, citing tariffs from US President Donald Trump and comments about Jair Bolsonaro's trial as foreign interference. Reuters reported on Saturday that State Department officials had pushed for sanctions against Brazil. Asked on Sunday whom he wanted to win, Trump said: "I don't want to get into that, but we are watching." In his victory speech, Lula said he had to "overcome interference coming from the outside." "The election was a defeat for denialism," he said. "It was a defeat for lies." The Federal Police investigation into transport disruptions remains open.

Al Jazeera correspondent Monica Yanakiew said the judicial system is "very divided" and that "there will need to be a lot of political negotiation."