South Americaupdated 1h ago2 min read
Archive photo · 16 February 2023Lula Wins Fourth Term After Runoff; Flávio Bolsonaro Refuses To Concede
“He is under investigation in another criminal case, too, over what happened to the £20m”
“Bolsonaro is refusing to accept the result and says the election should be annulled”
Photo: Ricardo Stuckert/PR, CC BY 2.0 · Cropped for layout
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Lula defeats Bolsonaro in runoff, 51.8% to 48.2%, securing a fourth term. Bolsonaro refuses to concede and plans legal challenges to the result.
Lula wins, Bolsonaro disputes
Brazil’s electoral court said Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won a historic fourth term in a runoff against Flávio Bolsonaro, with Lula taking 51.8% of the vote and Bolsonaro 48.2% as the count reached 100% of the vote.
Bolsonaro refused to concede and asked for the election results to be annulled after Supreme Court voting was extended by two hours, a decision he called “unacceptable,” according to CNBC.
Lula’s victory came after a first round in which Bolsonaro came in first but neither candidate secured a majority, which triggered the runoff.
Lula’s win also marked the first time since Brazil’s return to democracy in 1988 that a candidate who lost the first round went on to win the presidency, the BBC said.
The next term begins on Jan. 5, 2027, CBS News reported, as supporters gathered in and out of the Sao Paulo hotel where Lula watched the count with first lady Rosângela da Silva.
Voting extension sparks dispute
Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin extended voting by two hours, from 5pm to 7pm local time, after requests from both campaigns, and the extension created confusion because some polling stations had already closed and switched off their electronic voting machines, according to TVC News. Bolsonaro told journalists, “It is impossible to recognize the election results, given the circumstances under which things unfolded,” and he said he would seek annulment over the extension, as y alibnan reported. Lula addressed supporters after the result was confirmed and said, “No one is required to like the president-elect, but he must govern for everyone,” according to Fox News.
Lula also attacked Bolsonaro, saying, “This was a defeat for denialism and lies,” as Fox News quoted him. The BBC said Bolsonaro’s challenge was unlikely to succeed given there was a substantive and definitive margin of defeat, even as Brazilians in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro were split on the result.
Markets react, leaders congratulate
Brazilian assets fell after Lula’s win, with the iShares MSCI Brazil ETF dropping 25% at 10:30 a.m. ET and the Brazilian real dropping 10.5% against the U.S. dollar to its lowest level since December 2025, CNBC reported.
The Brazilian Treasury canceled auctions of inflation-linked and fixed-rate government bonds scheduled for Oct. 27 and Oct. 29, saying it would “continue to monitor market conditions and act to ensure the proper functioning of the government bond market and other related assets,” CNBC reported.
World leaders congratulated Lula, and DW said Germany’s Merz told reporters he looks forward to “deepening strategic ties” with Brazil.
The Kremlin welcomed Lula’s re-election and praised him for his contribution to bilateral ties and to BRICS, while the Trump administration remained silent, y alibnan reported.
Lula’s victory also set up a political test in a Congress where Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party holds the largest bench in decades, and CBS News said the next term begins on Jan. 5, 2027, as the dispute over annulment continued.