Flávio Bolsonaro leads Lula as Brazil’s presidential election heads to runoff
Brazil’s 4 October 2026 presidential vote will be decided in a second round on 25 October after neither Flávio Bolsonaro nor incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva secured a majority.
In short
- Brazil’s 4 October 2026 presidential vote will be decided in a second round on 25 October after neither Flávio Bolsonaro nor incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva secured a majority.
Brazil’s presidential election will go to a runoff on 25 October 2026, with Flávio Bolsonaro leading incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva after the first round held on 4 October.
With 99.9% of votes counted, Bolsonaro had 47% and Lula 45.1%, according to The Guardian’s report published on 5 October. Those figures represent a near-complete count rather than a final certified result. Al Jazeera separately reported that neither candidate had reached the majority needed to win outright.
The second round will narrow the contest to the two leading candidates. Bolsonaro is the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, while Lula is seeking a fourth non-consecutive presidential term.
Lula acknowledged that the first-round outcome fell short of his expectations and said he would begin a new campaign for the runoff, The Guardian reported. Bolsonaro presented his lead as a signal of support for political change.
The presidential ballot was part of a wider election in which Brazilians also chose governors and members of state and federal legislatures.
