Brazil's Lula da Silva wins historic 4th term after defeating Flavio Bolsonaro

With nearly all polling stations tallied, the TSE reported that Lula secured 51.76% of valid votes against Bolsonaro's 48.24%, a margin of more than 4 million votes.

The result marks an unprecedented development in modern Brazilian political history. Since the introduction of the two-round presidential election system in 1989, Lula has become the first candidate to win a runoff after finishing second in the first round.

In the initial vote on Oct. 4, Bolsonaro finished ahead with 47.03% of valid votes, compared with Lula's 45.16%, setting the stage for three weeks of intense campaigning across South America's largest country.

The runoff outcome represents a setback for the Bolsonaro family. Flavio, a 45-year-old senator and the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, had sought to return his family to the presidency.

The lead changed hands multiple times during the early stages of vote counting before Lula pulled ahead as more ballots were tallied, including returns from urban centers and the heavily populated Northeast.

Lula, who previously governed Brazil from 2003 to 2010 before winning another term in 2022, will begin his fourth term on Jan. 5, 2027.

As reported earlier, polls opened across Brazil at 8 am local time Sunday as voters started casting ballots in a closely contested presidential runoff between incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and conservative Senator Flávio Bolsonaro.