Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has pulled off a political comeback that no Brazilian presidential candidate has managed in nearly four decades. On Sunday, the 80-year-old leftist president won a record fourth non-consecutive term, overcoming a first-round defeat to right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of jailed former President Jair Bolsonaro. Lula won more than 51 percent of the vote to Bolsonaro’s 48 percent.
Some 98.76 percent of the ballots were counted when electoral authorities declared him the winner. Sunday’s results were far from certain, keeping Brazilians on edge until the very end. Bolsonaro and Lula had been virtually tied in the polls in the lead-up to the election.
A last-minute decision to extend voting hours sparked accusations of election interference and questions about whether the result could face legal challenges. Already, Senator Bolsonaro has pledged to annul the vote, crediting the extended hours with sowing voter confusion. Just three weeks ago, Lula looked like he was in trouble.
Bolsonaro had surprised many observers by beating the incumbent in the first round of voting on October 4, winning 47.03 percent of the vote to Lula’s 45.16 percent. The difference was 2.2 million votes. But Lula spent the next three weeks trying to bring back voters who stayed home in the first round, while making a renewed pitch to those concerned about the cost of living and the future of his signature social programmes.
In the final days of the campaign, opinion polls showed the two candidates virtually tied. Bolsonaro briefly took the lead as ballots were counted on Sunday evening. But Lula ultimately pulled ahead as results began arriving from the northeast, according to the news agency.
The northeast has long been a strong source of support for Lula and his Workers’ Party. Bolsonaro, meanwhile, has large bases of support in the south and southeast of the country, as well as the centre-west. For Lula, the victory means an unprecedented fourth term as president.
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