Lula Adds 10.4M Votes to Win Brazil Runoff, Bolsonaro Vows Legal Fight

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva secured reelection in Brazil's Sunday runoff by adding 10.4 million voters to his count. He finished with more than 64 million votes against just under 60 million for Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, a margin of nearly 4%. Lula is expected to take office on Jan. 5, 2027, for his fourth non-consecutive term.

The result marked a shift from the first round. Analysts said three-quarters of the 14.1 million additional voters who appeared for the runoff went to Lula, including supporters of third-party candidates and people who abstained earlier. This was the first time since 1989 that a candidate came from behind in the first round to win the second. Lula's digital campaign, led by lawmaker André Janones, used a WhatsApp channel called "Lula's Army" that gathered almost 11 million people.

Flávio Bolsonaro said at a Sunday news conference that he plans to request an annulment of the election. The request follows a chaotic extension of voting that a Supreme Court justice ordered minutes before polls were set to close at 5 p.m. Lula sought the delay because of public transportation issues in Sao Paulo and Salvador, while Bolsonaro requested it after heavy rains in the south. It remains unclear what legal avenue he would have to pursue that challenge. His father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, unsuccessfully contested his loss to Lula four years ago and is now serving a 27-year sentence for a coup attempt under house arrest.

President Donald Trump said on Monday that he thought the election had "a very bad look, the way it was tabulated" and called it "another rigged election, frankly." He did not provide evidence for the claim. Kassio Nunes, president of Brazil's electoral authority who was appointed to the Supreme Court by Jair Bolsonaro, recognized Lula's victory on Sunday. Benjamin Gedan, senior fellow and director of the Stimson Center Latin America program, noted "Lula's margin of victory, and the quick recognition of the result by conservative leaders in the region."

Lula still faces a right-wing Congress where Bolsonaro's party will hold more seats than any other. Flávio Bolsonaro remains a senator, though his term ends in January. Brian Winter, a Brazil analyst and editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly, said: "We shouldn't underestimate the power of the Bolsonaro family." He added, "They can make life difficult for Lula for weeks and months to come."