Brazil's Lula clinches election victory as Bolsonaro rejects results
Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva secured a re-election victory with 51.8% of the vote, defeating Flávio Bolsonaro by nearly 4.4 million votes.
The 81-year-old leftist defied projections to win an unprecedented fourth term, staving off a conservative wave that has seen numerous South American countries shift right, backed by US President Donald Trump. Bolsonaro quickly refused to concede defeat and asked for the election results to be annulled after an evening of chaos at some polling places that followed a last-minute decision to extend voting by two hours.
Voting extension controversy
Lula had requested the extension after he complained that buses had been pulled from circulation in various cities, barring citizens from voting. Flavio Bolsonaro also requested an extension in some regions due to heavy rains, but he described the decision as "unacceptable" and a "dirty trick".
It is impossible to recognise the results. I am going to request the annulment of these elections.
Historic comeback
After a first-round defeat, the left swung into action with massive rallies, declaring "Never Again Bolsonaro" and revamped their social media strategy. No candidate who lost the first round has gone on to win the second in Brazil since 1989, the first direct election after the country's military dictatorship.
The abstention rate decreased from the first round, falling from 21 percent to 19 percent. "People went to vote because we managed to convince them that voting was very important for ensuring democracy in the country," Lula said in his first comments after the win.
Celebration and division
Fireworks and vuvuzelas rang out in Rio de Janeiro, while thousands of people dressed in red, the color of Lula's Workers' Party, streamed into the streets of Sao Paulo to celebrate. Lula's campaign leaned heavily on the theme of sovereignty in the face of commercial and diplomatic pressure from Trump's United States.
"Either the homeland remains free, or we die for Brazil," he said. "This country will not accept being anyone's backyard." In Rio de Janeiro, cars beeped their horns and a woman dressed in red shouted "You lost! Cry harder!" to four men in yellow and green sipping beers, Bolsonaro's signature colors.
Related
