Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro face runoff after Brazil's electorate denies a first-round mandate in 2026 presidential race
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
Incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro will go to a second-round vote after no candidate won a majority in the first round on 4 October.
Incumbent left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, will meet in a runoff after the first round of Brazil's presidential election failed to produce any candidate with over 50% of the vote. The first round, held on 4 October, saw Bolsonaro edge ahead in Minas Gerais with a narrow margin, winning 48.43% to Lula's 43.33%, while the nationwide result forced a second round under Brazil's majority-vote system.
Lula, who previously served two terms from 2003 to 2010 and returned to office in 2023, is 81 years old. Bolsonaro, a 45-year-old lawyer and former senator from Rio, is campaigning with the endorsement of his father, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence for a failed coup attempt.
The runoff will decide whether Lula can secure another term or whether Bolsonaro can become the first first-round runner-up since 1985 to overturn the initial result. Voter turnout and final counts are expected later on Sunday.