Trump called the vote “another rigged election.” An analysis found the contested voting extension added about 35,000 votes.
BRASÍLIA – Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won Sunday’s presidential runoff by more than 4.4 million votes, but his challenger, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, has not conceded and says he will ask for the election to be annulled. On Monday, Bolsonaro’s own Liberal Party said it accepted the result.
Lula won more than 64.25 million votes to Bolsonaro’s 59.83 million, Al Jazeera reported. In a post-election speech, Bolsonaro called the result “unacceptable” and said he would take legal action. He objected to a decision by Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin to extend voting by two hours, to 7 p.m. Brasília time. Bolsonaro noted that Lula appointed Zanin to the court in 2023 and that Zanin was previously Lula’s personal lawyer.
Both campaigns had asked for the extension, for different reasons. Bolsonaro’s camp pointed to heavy rain in parts of southern Brazil, a stronghold for the right, that kept some voters from reaching polling places. Lula’s camp accused some cities of cutting public transportation on election day. Media reports said a transportation official in Salvador, Pablo Souza, was arrested over the matter.
Experts were skeptical of the fraud claims. Pedro Burgos, a professor at Insper, found the extension produced about 35,000 additional votes nationwide, less than 0.03 percent of the total and far short of Lula’s margin. Liberal Party leader Valdemar Costa Neto said his party recognized the results but that the issues raised needed to be clarified.
US President Donald Trump, who has clashed with Lula, told reporters Monday the vote “looked like another rigged election,” although he said he did not take sides in the race. He offered no evidence.
On Monday, Bolsonaro said federal police had asked him to surrender his passports amid speculation that he might leave the country. He said a Supreme Court justice made the decision after his brother Eduardo, who lives in the United States, said on a podcast before the election that he favored Flávio leaving the country if he lost. Bolsonaro said he would comply and had no intention of leaving. Brazilian police are investigating Bolsonaro over alleged corruption linked to the financing of a biopic about his father.
His father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, is serving a 27-year sentence for coup-related charges after refusing to accept his 2022 defeat to Lula. It is unclear whether Flávio will pursue his challenge. Folha de S.Paulo reported Monday that legal advisers and allies have urged him to drop it, citing the size of Lula’s margin and its validation by the Supreme Court and election authorities.
This report draws on information from Al Jazeera, AFP and Reuters.