Brazil election - live: World leaders congratulate Lula as he pips Bolsonaro to become president

The final result of the election is expected in the next few hours

Lula wins Brazil’s presidential election, ousting incumbent Bolsonaro

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of the leftist Worker’s Party has defeated incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in a tight election to become Brazil’s next president.

With 98.8% of the votes tallied in the runoff vote — Lula had 50.8% and Bolsonaro 49.2% — the election authority said his victory was a mathematical certainty.

Mr Lula da Silva, the country’s former president from 2003-2010, has promised to restore the country’s more prosperous past but faces headwinds in a polarised society.

It is a stunning return to power for Lula, 77, whose 2018 imprisonment over a corruption scandal sidelined him from that year’s election, paving the way for Mr Bolsonaro’s win and four years of far-right politics.

His victory marks the first time since Brazil‘s 1985 return to democracy that the sitting president has failed to win reelection.

World leaders, including US president Joe Biden and French president Emmanuel Macron, congratulated Mr Lula da Silva on his victory.

His inauguration is scheduled to take place on 1 January.

Key Points

• Lula defeats Bolsonaro in presidential race
• Lula promises to unite divided country
• World leaders congratulate Lula
• Lula's inauguration scheduled for 1 January
• Elections regulator denies reports of illegal roadblocks

[31 October 2022 06:15 · Sravasti Dasgupta]

From prison to presidency, Lula makes stunning political comeback

During the last Brazilian general election in 2018, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was in a prison cell, serving a 12-year sentence on corruption charges as part of the “Car Wash” scandal which shook the foundations of Brazilian politics, threatened to end his career, and paved the way for the controversial, far-right Jair Bolsonaro to triumph in an unlikely victory.

On Sunday, he defeated Mr Bolsonaro in a tight election fight that went down to the wire.

David Harding writes on Brazil’s new president:

[31 October 2022 07:00 · Sravasti Dasgupta]

Bolsonaro yet to concede defeat

While Brazil’s incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro may have been defeated by leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday, the far right leader has not yet conceded defeat, raising concerns that he might contest the result.

“So far, Bolsonaro has not called me to recognize my victory, and I don’t know if he will call or if he will recognise my victory,” Mr Lula said to his supporters celebrating his win in Sao Paulo.

The Bolsonaro campaign did not respond to a request for comment by Reuters.

Last year, Mr Bolsonaro openly discussed refusing to accept the results of the vote, making baseless claims that Brazil’s electronic voting system was vulnerable to fraud.

A supporter of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro reacts to results after polls closed in a presidential run-off election (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

[31 October 2022 07:45 · Sravasti Dasgupta]

UK PM Sunak congratulates Lula

Prime minister Rishi Sunak has congratulated Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for winning Brazil’s presidential election.

In a tweet Mr Sunak said: “I look forward to working together on the issues that matter to the UK and Brazil, from growing the global economy to protecting the planet’s natural resources and promoting democratic values.”

[31 October 2022 08:00 · Sravasti Dasgupta]

Lula to include allies in new government

Brazil’s new president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva may include some trusted allies in his new government.

While on the campaign trail, Mr Lula had not revealed any names of potential cabinet members.

But Workers Party stalwarts Alexandre Padilha and Fernando Haddad, former governors Wellington Dias and Flavio Dino and new allies Simone Tebet and Marina Silva, who helped him defeat incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, are expected to be included, reported Reuters.

Speculation has also surrounded his choice of finance minister.

“He banned any talk of this because in a tight election, anticipating names could have a negative impact,” a senior member of Lula’s Workers Party was quoted as saying.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva kisses his ticket after voting (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

[31 October 2022 09:00 · Sravasti Dasgupta]

Latin America's pink tide leaders congratulate Lula

Latin American leaders have congratulated Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for his victory in Brazil’s run-off elections.

The pink tide was used to first describe a wave of left governments that emerged in the region in the early 2000s starting with Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and Bolivia’s Evo Morales, as well as Mr Lula himself.

Countries over the following decade swung to the right.“Long live Lula,” tweeted Colombia’s Gustavo Petro, who in June was elected his country’s first leftist president.

“Congratulations brother,” wrote Bolivian president Luis Arce.

“Your victory strengthens democracy and integration in Latin America.”

“Democracy won today in Brazil,” said Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, whose ties to Lula were frequently cited by Mr Bolsonaro to question the Workers Party’s commitment to democracy.

Brazil Elections (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

[31 October 2022 10:00 · Sravasti Dasgupta]

Jair Bolsonaro is Brazil’s Donald Trump

On Sunday, Brazil elected its new president, leftist Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva who scripted a stunning comeback as the leader of the South American country.

The political phenomenon that one-time presidents Bolsonaro and Donald Trump embody has a fundamental characteristic: using the democratic process and then weakening it so that it becomes unrecognisable and incapable of containing its presidents’ authoritarian excesses.

James N Green writes on the similarities between Mr Bolsonaro and former US president Donald Trump.

[31 October 2022 11:00 · Sravasti Dasgupta]

Lula vows to protect the Amazon

Brazil’s president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has vowed to protect the Amazon rainforest after defeating incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in a bitterly fought tight election.

In his victory speech Mr Lula said: “We will once again monitor and do surveillance in the Amazon. We will fight every illegal activity.”

“At the same time, we will promote sustainable development of communities in the Amazon.”

The Bolsonaro administration was criticised for the worst deforestation in the Amazon rainforest in 15 years.

Supporters of former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula gather on Paulista Av. after he defeated incumbent Jair Bolsonaro (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

[31 October 2022 12:00 · Sravasti Dasgupta]

ICYMI: Lula defeats Bolsonaro to complete stunning comeback as president

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the left-wing former leader of Brazil, has emerged as the winner in the country’s momentous election, defeating the hard-right president Jair Bolsonaro in one of the most stunning comebacks in international politics.

Kim Sengupta reports from Sao Paulo: