Incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has narrowly overtaken right-wing challenger Flavio Bolsonaro in Brazil’s fiercely contested presidential runoff, with the outcome still uncertain as votes continue to be counted.
With just over half of polling stations reporting, Lula has secured 50.15% of valid votes against Bolsonaro’s 49.85%, reversing an earlier deficit. The two candidates are separated by fewer than 200,000 votes.
The election could determine whether Latin America’s largest economy maintains its prominent role in BRICS or moves closer to Washington. Bolsonaro, the son of jailed former President Jair Bolsonaro and an ally of US President Donald Trump, has openly questioned Brazil’s membership in the bloc.
The vote count has been overshadowed by a controversial last-minute Supreme Court decision to extend voting hours nationwide by two hours following transport disruptions and allegations of voter suppression. The move sparked accusations of election manipulation from Bolsonaro allies, while federal police launched investigations into possible criminal offenses related to the transport disruptions.
The bitter campaign has also been marked by political violence and allegations of interference by US technology giant Meta, which has denied deliberately favoring Bolsonaro.
Follow our live updates for the latest results, reactions and developments:
26 October 2026
Senior judges from Brazil’s Supreme Court (STF) and Superior Electoral Court (TSE) have acknowledged procedural errors in the controversial decision to extend voting hours and expect legal challenges from the losing campaign, Folha de S.Paulo reports.
The judges reportedly criticized delays by both courts that left many polling stations unable to implement the last-minute order, as their electronic voting machines had already been sealed.
Despite the confusion, the judges currently rule out annulling or repeating the election, according to the newspaper.
Brazil’s Federal Police recorded 57 suspected electoral offenses and took 71 people to police stations during the runoff, according to figures released by the force covering incidents up to 7pm Brasília time.
The main suspected offenses involved illegal campaigning and violations of ballot secrecy, Metrópoles reported.
Lula has widened his lead over Bolsonaro to 51.58% against 48.42%, with 90.35% of polling stations counted, according to official electoral figures. The incumbent now leads by more than 3.5 million votes, with just under 10% of polling stations yet to report.
25 October 2026
Cheers erupt in São Paulo as Lula widens his lead over Bolsonaro, with supporters celebrating in the streets, according to footage shared by Metrópoles.
Lula has widened his lead over Bolsonaro to 51.11% against 48.89%, with 75% of the vote counted.
Lula and his supporters celebrate as he retakes the lead over Bolsonaro, with footage shared by Brazilian outlet Metrópoles capturing their jubilant reaction.
Mounted police in riot gear have been deployed to São Paulo’s Paulista Avenue amid heightened tensions surrounding the closely contested runoff, according to footage circulating online.
Lula has widened his lead over Flavio Bolsonaro as the vote count passes 61%, securing 50.55% against his rival’s 49.45%.
The margin has grown to 1.1 percentage points, up from just 0.3 points when slightly over half of polling stations had been counted.
Lula has overtaken Bolsonaro as the vote count passes the halfway mark, securing 50.15% against his rival’s 49.85%, according to official figures.
With 50.76% of polling stations counted, the two candidates are separated by just 186,275 votes.
Brazil’s Federal Police are investigating whether public transport disruptions during the presidential runoff involved criminal offenses, Federal Police investigations director Dennis Cali said.
The probe covers Bahia, Sao Paulo, Piaui, Sergipe, and Alagoas, although a formal inquiry has so far been opened only in Sergipe. Investigators are interviewing people involved in organizing and providing transport services.
The disruptions were among the reasons that prompted the Supreme Court to extend voting hours by two hours.
With 37% of the vote counted, Flavio Bolsonaro maintains a narrow lead over Lula, securing 50.32% of the vote against the incumbent’s 49.68%.
A group of people have moved a car blocking a road in Brazil, according to a video circulating online. Unverified reports claim that Bolsonaro supporters had placed the vehicle there to prevent people from voting.
Unverified reports circulating on social media allege that Bolsonaro supporters set fire to buses to prevent people from voting. These allegations have not been independently verified.
Separately, at least 75 buses were reportedly blocked from leaving their garages in Salvador, prompting an electoral judge to order the arrest of municipal transport secretary Pablo Souza, according to AP.
Flavio Bolsonaro has overtaken Lula in Brazil’s presidential runoff, receiving 50.24% of votes against the incumbent’s 49.76%, with 17% of polling stations reporting.
Prominent right-wing businessman and Flavio Bolsonaro ally Pablo Marçal has accused Lula’s Workers’ Party (PT) of attempting to manipulate the presidential election narrative after a Supreme Court judge controversially extended voting hours nationwide.
Speaking outside Bolsonaro’s election-night headquarters, Marçal denounced the decision by Justice Cristiano Zanin, Lula’s former personal lawyer, as an “absurdity” that had thrown the vote count into confusion.
“The decision arrives at 5:04pm, without notification to the Superior Electoral Court or any state electoral court. The voting machines were already closed, and there is no way to reopen them,” he told reporters.
Marçal argued that Bolsonaro’s campaign had requested an extension in only 17 cities affected by severe weather, questioning why the ruling applied to thousands of municipalities nationwide.
Brazil’s electoral authorities subsequently clarified that the extension applied only to polling stations where electronic voting machines had not already been shut down.
Lula leads with 50.5% against Flavio Bolsonaro’s 49.5%, with 10.4% of polling stations counted.
Counting was paused after the Supreme Court extended voting hours by two hours, with 335,743 votes tallied before the suspension. The decision followed reports that public transport disruptions had prevented some voters from reaching polling stations.
The extension applies only to polling stations where electronic voting machines have not yet been sealed, Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin has clarified, according to Brazilian news outlet UOL.
However, some stations had already sealed their machines before receiving the order, leaving late arrivals unable to cast their ballots.
Incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has taken an early lead over right-wing challenger Flavio Bolsonaro in Brazil’s presidential runoff, according to the first figures published by the country’s electoral authorities.
Lula received 57.66% of valid votes against Bolsonaro’s 42.34%, with just 0.25% of polling stations counted as of 5:06pm Brasília time.
The extremely limited count does not provide a reliable indication of the eventual outcome, particularly as the nationwide extension of voting hours has disrupted the normal release of results.
The last major opinion polls released before Brazil’s presidential runoff showed Flavio Bolsonaro holding a narrow advantage over incumbent Lula da Silva.
An AtlasIntel/Bloomberg survey published Saturday put Bolsonaro at 50.8% of valid voting intentions against Lula’s 49.2%. The poll surveyed 4,990 voters between October 18 and 23, with a margin of error of one percentage point.
A separate Quaest survey put Bolsonaro at 51% and Lula at 49%, also indicating a tight contest.
Both surveys were conducted before election day and do not represent exit polls or actual votes cast.