Lula wins a fourth term in Brazil's runoff, and Flávio Bolsonaro refuses to concede
Lula took 51.79% to Bolsonaro's 48.21%, the first time since 1985 that a first round runner up won the presidency. Bolsonaro is seeking to annul the result over a late extension of voting hours.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won Sunday's runoff with 51.79% of valid votes, about 64.26 million, to 48.21% for Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, about 59.83 million, Al Jazeera reported. Fox News put the margin at nearly 4.4 million votes and said Lula is the first candidate since the military dictatorship ended in 1985 to win after finishing second in the first round, which Bolsonaro led 47% to 45% on Oct. 4. Turnout rose to 80.8% from 78.92% in the first round, according to Al Jazeera.
Bolsonaro refused to concede and called for the result to be annulled after Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin ordered a nationwide two hour extension of voting three minutes before polls were due to close, Fox News reported. Electoral court president Kassio Nunes Marques said the extension did not affect the results, according to Fox News, and Al Jazeera reported that both campaigns had requested extensions, citing transport disruption and severe weather, which experts said weakens Bolsonaro's legal case. Bolsonaro still carried Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul by smaller margins than in the first round, while Minas Gerais was essentially tied, Fox News reported.
"No one is required to like the president-elect, but he must govern for everyone," Lula told supporters, calling the result "a defeat for denialism and lies," according to Fox News and Al Jazeera. Analysts told Al Jazeera that young voters mobilized online after the first round and that Bolsonaro appeared overconfident. Lula, who turns 81 on Tuesday, faces a Congress where Bolsonaro's Liberal Party and allies could hold more than 280 of 513 lower house seats and up to 50 of 81 Senate seats, Al Jazeera reported.
What is established
- Lula 51.79%, Flávio Bolsonaro 48.21% of valid votes.
- Turnout was 80.8%, up from 78.92% in the first round.
- Justice Cristiano Zanin extended voting by two hours minutes before polls closed.
- Governors were also chosen in runoffs in five states and the Federal District, Fox News reported.
What each side says
"No one is required to like the president-elect, but he must govern for everyone."
The runoff result should be annulled after the court extended voting hours.
The extension did not affect the results.
How it was covered
Left 1 report
Al Jazeera explained how Lula came back from a first round loss, crediting youth mobilization and Bolsonaro's overconfidence, and called the result a setback for Trump aligned movements in Latin America.
Center No reports
Right 1 report
Fox News framed the result as a conservative wave hitting a roadblock, and gave weight to the confusion over the late voting extension and Bolsonaro's refusal to concede.