Lula wins a fourth term as President of Brazil in the presidential run-off

26 October 2026

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of the Workers' Party won Brazil's presidential run-off, taking more than 51 percent of the vote and over 64 million ballots. Senator Flavio Bolsonaro finished with 48 percent, or more than 59 million ballots, a margin of more than 4 million votes. Brazil's Superior Electoral Court called the race shortly after 9pm Brasilia time. In the first round on 4 October, Flavio Bolsonaro had 47 percent and Lula 45 percent, and neither reached the 50 percent needed to avoid a run-off. Polls on run-off day stayed open two hours longer, until 7pm Brasilia time, after a ruling by Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin. Lula, who is 80, will be sworn in on 5 January 2027. It is his fourth, non-consecutive term: he served two consecutive terms from 2002 to 2010 and a third term from 2022.