Flavio Bolsonaro leads Lula into Brazilian presidential election runoff

Senator Flavio Bolsonaro finished ahead of incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the first round of Brazil's presidential vote on Sunday. Al Jazeera and FTMQ News reported that Bolsonaro took about 47 percent of the vote compared to 45 percent for Lula. The BBC and Al Jazeera both reported that the election will now proceed to a second-round runoff. [1][8][16][17]

The result represented an unexpected shift from pre-election polling. Al Jazeera reported that polls before the vote had placed Lula in first position with a three percentage point lead over Bolsonaro. Experts cited by Al Jazeera suggested that economic frustration, a late right-wing shift, and a banking scandal contributed to the final outcome. [1]

General elections took place across Brazil on October 4, 2026, to elect the president, vice president, and members of the National Congress. Flavio Bolsonaro is a right-wing senator and the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Lula has served as president of Brazil since 2023, having previously held the office from 2003 to 2011, as FTMQ News reported earlier. [13][16][17]

Following the first-round result, Donald Trump praised Bolsonaro's performance as a great victory, TRT World and Anadolu Ajansi reported. Meanwhile, Centre Daily Times and Bloomberg reported that Bolsonaro has secured endorsements from right-wing rivals ahead of the runoff. [2][3][4][5][7][12]

Financial markets reacted positively to the first-round results. KWSN and Reuters reported that Brazilian markets rallied, with the stock exchange reaching a record high following Bolsonaro's lead in the vote. [6][10]