Lula wins Brazil's runoff for a fourth term — Bolsonaro's party concedes defeat, his passports are cancelled and he leaves for the US
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won Brazil's presidential runoff on Sunday 25 October 2026, defeating Senator Flávio Bolsonaro with 51.78% of valid votes to 48.22% at 99.97% counted, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) showed — a margin of about 4.4 million votes, after Bolsonaro had led the first round. Bolsonaro first said he would seek the election's annulment over a court ruling that extended voting by two hours; his Liberal Party then formally recognised the result, and he abandoned the annulment plan. A Supreme Court justice ordered him to surrender his passports in a money-laundering investigation, which he denies; the passports were cancelled when he missed the deadline, and he left Brazil for the United States, arriving in Miami on 29 October.
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Key points
- Lula won the 25 October runoff with 51.78% of valid votes to Bolsonaro's 48.22% — about 4.4 million votes — after trailing in the first round.
- Bolsonaro's party formally recognised the result and he abandoned his annulment plan; his voting-extension challenge is a disputed legal claim, with about 34,000 votes cast after regular hours.
- A Supreme Court justice ordered his passports surrendered in a money-laundering investigation he denies; they were cancelled when he missed the deadline.
- He left Brazil and arrived in Miami on 29 October; police are investigating how he left, as he had no regular exit record.
What happened
The runoff capped a turbulent campaign in which Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former president Jair Bolsonaro — who is under house arrest for attempting a coup after his own 2022 loss — was cleared to run only in September and won the first round. Lula, 81, will govern with a Congress where the right is the largest force, and Bolsonaro has promised to organise that opposition from abroad or at home.
Both sides, in their own words
Both sides heard. Neither believed for free. Publishing a side's version is not endorsing it — the claim checks below are where verdicts live.
Side A · Lula and the electoral court
- The TSE's count gave Lula 51.78% of valid votes to Bolsonaro's 48.22%, and its president said he called both candidates to confirm the result.
- Electoral authority chief Kassio Nunes Marques said the vote took place in full compliance with legal and constitutional requirements.
Side B · Flávio Bolsonaro
- Bolsonaro said it was impossible to recognise the result after a Supreme Court justice extended voting by two hours, and first said he would seek the election's annulment.
- He later said he would seek to have Lula's ticket disqualified over alleged false information and use of public funds — allegations, not findings — and called the passport order an attempt to intimidate him.
Independently verified
Lula won the runoff on Sunday 25 October 2026 with 51.78% of valid votes to Bolsonaro's 48.22%, with 99.97% of ballots counted, the TSE showed — a lead of nearly 4.4 million votes. He had trailed in the first round on 4 October, 45.16% to 47.03%, making him the first candidate to win after finishing second in the first round since Brazil returned to democracy in 1985. His fourth term begins on 5 January 2027. TSE President Kassio Nunes Marques said he called both candidates to confirm the result. Bolsonaro's Liberal Party formally recognised the result in a statement signed on Monday by its president, Valdemar Costa Neto, while criticising increased public spending in the run-up to the vote. Bolsonaro abandoned his plan to seek the election's annulment, saying instead he would seek to have Lula's ticket disqualified and would organise the opposition in Congress. 'I wasn't the one who lost. The system won,' he said. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered Bolsonaro to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports within 24 hours and barred him from leaving Brazil, in an investigation into alleged money laundering and currency evasion involving lawyer Willer Tomaz, whom the ruling also barred him from contacting. Bolsonaro denies wrongdoing in the probe, which is an investigation, not a conviction. When he missed the deadline, Brazil's Federal Police cancelled his passports. Bolsonaro left Brazil and arrived at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport on Wednesday 29 October, posting an open letter on X thanking President Trump and Argentina's President Milei and writing 'I did not flee Brazil. I left Brazil, but I did not abandon the Brazilian people.' A source close to the family told Reuters he had landed in Florida, and a State Department source told the agency it would issue visas to him and his family. A senior Federal Police official said he had not exited through any regular migration point, and Brazilian police are investigating how he left. President Lula called it 'shameful' that he had not stayed to prove his innocence.Not yet verified
Nothing outstanding.Claim by claim
Why this label: The TSE's figures as reported in full by Sociedad Media and carried in the same terms by Reuters' and CBS's reporting; the first-round scores and the inauguration date are from the same reports.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The ruling, both campaigns' requests and the 34,000 figure are reported consistently; whether the extension could annul anything is the disputed legal question, and the lawyers quoted disagree — annulment arguments are positions, not findings.
On the ladder: credible sources conflict, so we show both workings. One side's own statement is that side's position — never proof.
Why this label: The party's signed statement and Bolsonaro's own video remarks, reported by The Edge/Reuters; his disqualification allegations are carried in the sides as his position.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Show all claims (2 more)
Why this label: The order is Bolsonaro's own account of being served, reported by Reuters and The Guardian, with a federal-police source confirming the cancellation to AFP; the court did not publish the order and did not immediately respond to requests for comment, which is why the order's existence is carried on those reports rather than on the court's own text.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: His arrival and his own letter are reported by Seven Lights' synthesis of Reuters, the Guardian and other wires, with the Reuters family source and the State Department source quoted in it; how he crossed the border is the part no official source has settled, and it is carried as under investigation.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- The TSE's count and margin, the party's recognition of the result, and Bolsonaro's abandonment of the annulment plan.
- The passport order and cancellation, and his arrival in Miami on 29 October, on his own letter and Reuters' family source.
What we don't know yet
- How Bolsonaro left Brazil — police say there is no regular exit record and are investigating.
- The outcome of his promised bid to disqualify Lula's ticket, and of the money-laundering investigation — both are open, and he denies wrongdoing.
- Whether he seeks asylum in the United States — allies were reported to have said he planned to request it; he has not said so in the words read.
Why it matters
Brazil's election produced a certified winner, a concession by the loser's party, and then a second story: a defeated candidate under a court order not to leave the country in the United States within days. Both halves matter — the result settles who governs from January, and the departure tests whether court orders bind a senator who says the system, not the voters, beat him.
Background
Show the background timeline (4)
First round: Bolsonaro leads with 47.03% to Lula's 45.16%.
Runoff: Lula wins with 51.78% of valid votes; a Supreme Court ruling extends voting by two hours as polls close, and Bolsonaro says he will seek annulment.
Bolsonaro's party recognises the result; he drops the annulment plan. Justice de Moraes orders his passports surrendered; the Federal Police cancel them when the deadline passes.
Bolsonaro arrives in Miami and posts an open letter thanking Presidents Trump and Milei.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Published in Checking state — checking continues, and claims are labelled as reporting develops. Basis: the electoral court's figures, the Liberal Party's signed recognition of the result, and Reuters' reporting of the passport order and of his arrival in the United States.