Lula won Brazil’s runoff with 51.8% of the vote, a lead of nearly 4.4 million, after trailing in the first round. Flávio Bolsonaro rejects the result and wants it annulled, citing the chaotic extension of voting hours. The electoral court says the extension did not change the outcome, and Lula takes office for a fourth term in January.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been re-elected in Brazil’s presidential runoff. The electoral court said Lula took 51.79% of valid votes, to 48.21% for Flávio Bolsonaro. With every vote counted, Lula’s lead was nearly 4.4 million. The result was a comeback: Bolsonaro had beaten Lula by more than 2.2 million votes in the first round earlier this month. It was also the first time since the end of Brazil’s military dictatorship in 1985 that a candidate who finished second in the first round won the runoff. Lula is due to begin his fourth non-consecutive term on January 5, 2027.

Bolsonaro, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, has not accepted the outcome. He asked for the results to be annulled after an evening of chaos at some polling places, following a last-minute decision to extend voting by two hours.

The result also has international weight. Lula is a vocal critic of US President Donald Trump, and his win bucks a regional trend of victories for right-of-centre candidates allied with Trump. In his victory speech he said Brazil will not accept being anyone’s backyard