Brazil's leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva staged a dramatic comeback on Sunday to win a fourth term in the presidential run-off. Official results gave Lula 51.8 percent of the vote against 48.2 percent for his rival Flavio Bolsonaro, a margin of about 4.4 million votes.
The win is striking because Lula trailed after the first round, and no candidate who lost the first round had gone on to win the second in Brazil since 1989. Lula turns 81 on Tuesday. His victory keeps Brazil out of a rightward wave that has swept countries such as Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru.
Bolsonaro vows to seek annulment
Voting day was marked by confusion after the Supreme Court, at Lula's request, extended polling by two hours. Lula had complained that buses were pulled off the roads in several cities, keeping people from reaching polling stations. Flavio Bolsonaro had also sought an extension in some regions because of heavy rain, but called the ruling "unacceptable" and a "dirty trick".
"It is impossible to recognise the results. I am going to request the annulment of these elections," he said in a brief speech in Brasilia. Flavio is the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year sentence for attempting a coup after losing the 2022 election to Lula.
After his win, Lula said people turned out because "we managed to convince them that voting was very important for ensuring democracy in the country." Fireworks lit up Rio de Janeiro, while thousands of supporters dressed in the red of the Workers' Party poured into the streets of Sao Paulo. Read our run-off preview.