Flávio Bolsonaro Leads Lula as Brazil Presidential Race Goes to Runoff
Brazil’s presidential election will be decided in a second round after Flávio Bolsonaro finished ahead of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the Brazil presidential election but failed to secure enough votes for an outright victory.
With 99.9 per cent of ballots counted, Bolsonaro had secured 47 per cent of the vote, compared with 45.1 per cent for Lula, according to the results.
The two candidates will face each other again on October 25, when Brazilian voters will make the final choice for the country’s presidency.
Flávio Bolsonaro, 45, is the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro and a leading figure in the conservative movement that has remained influential in Brazilian politics.
His first-round performance was stronger than several opinion polls had indicated, while other candidates on the political right also attracted votes that could become important in the runoff.
Ronaldo Caiado received 2.1 per cent, while Renan Santos polled 2.2 per cent, leaving their supporters as part of the wider electorate both campaigns will now seek to attract.
The presidential contest was accompanied by significant gains for right-wing politicians in Brazil’s congressional and gubernatorial elections.
Carlos Bolsonaro and Michelle Bolsonaro, the former president’s son and wife, won Senate seats, while Jair Renan Bolsonaro secured a place in the lower house.
Tarcísio de Freitas, a former infrastructure minister under Jair Bolsonaro, also retained the governorship of São Paulo, Brazil’s most populous and economically important state.
The results underline the continued political influence of the Bolsonaro family despite the legal troubles surrounding the former president.
Jair Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year prison sentence after being convicted over a plot to overturn the result of the 2022 presidential election, which Lula won.
Flávio Bolsonaro has campaigned as a continuation of the conservative political movement associated with his father while attempting to broaden his appeal among voters seeking a change in government.
Lula, 80, had hoped to secure another presidential victory without the need for a runoff but acknowledged after the vote that the result had not matched his expectations.
The Workers’ Party leader, who first became president in 2003 and later returned to office in 2023, said the second round would allow voters to examine the differences between the candidates.
Economic pressure and public security were among the major concerns surrounding the election, as Brazilian voters weighed the direction of the country under the next administration.
Nearly 159 million people were eligible to vote in an election that also included contests for governors, state lawmakers, members of the Chamber of Deputies and senators.
The Senate results could also shape the political balance in Brasília, particularly because Bolsonaro’s supporters have sought greater influence over the country’s Supreme Court.
International relations featured in the campaign as well, with US President Donald Trump becoming an issue in the contest.
Flávio Bolsonaro has expressed support for closer ties with Trump, while Lula has criticised what he describes as American attempts to influence Brazil’s political direction and natural resources.
The first round has therefore left Brazil with two competing political paths, but the final decision will now depend on how voters who backed the eliminated candidates respond to the runoff.
Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro have three weeks to make their cases to the electorate before Brazilians return to the polls on October 25 to choose their next president.
