Senator and presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro of the Liberal Party (PL) holds 50.02% of the valid votes in Brazil’s presidential runoff on Sunday, October 25, 2026, while incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the Workers’ Party (PT) stands at 49.98%. Official records released by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Brazil’s highest electoral authority, show 8,919,815 votes for the PL contender and 8,910,951 votes for the PT representative with 14.29% of polling sections tabulated.
Vote counting across the country experienced a two-hour suspension after Supreme Federal Court (STF) Justice Cristiano Zanin extended nationwide polling hours from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. (Brasília time). The magistrate granted the extension following formal petitions regarding public transportation failures in municipalities such as Salvador and São Paulo, alongside heavy rainfall in several states. Once the extended voting window closed, the Superior Electoral Court resumed publishing real-time figures through its official Resultados platform, monitoring an electorate of 158,745,502 eligible voters across 499,248 polling sections in Brazil and abroad.
Lead change in the Superior Electoral Court tally between 10.40% and 14.29%
Continuous processing of electronic ballot reports reversed the advantage recorded during the initial stages of the national tabulation. At 7:39 p.m. (Brasília time), when 10.40% of polling stations had been processed, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva held first place with 50.46% of valid votes, corresponding to 6,567,952 ballots.
In that same 7:39 p.m. update, Flávio Bolsonaro occupied second place with 49.54% of valid votes, totaling 6,449,165 ballots. The progression from 10.40% to 14.29% of tabulated sections incorporated more than 4.8 million valid votes into the national count, placing the PL senator ahead by a four-hundredths of a percentage point margin and 8,864 votes.
The tight margin in the second round follows a close first-round vote held on October 4, 2026. In that initial contest, Flávio Bolsonaro finished in first place with 47.03% of valid votes, while Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva secured 45.16% to advance to the October runoff.
Overseas ballot numbers for both presidential contenders
Prior to the release of domestic totals, the Superior Electoral Court published polling station reports from Brazilian citizens living outside the country. According to the partial consolidation recorded at 10:40 a.m. (Brasília time), Flávio Bolsonaro led the international count with 33,642 votes and confirmed victories in seven nations, including Japan, where he received 28,538 votes against 7,098 for his opponent.
In the same 10:40 a.m. international update, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva totaled 15,272 votes and led the tally in five countries, securing wins in jurisdictions such as Australia, with 6,017 votes to 3,465, and New Zealand, with 418 votes to 101. Earlier in the day, at 9:17 a.m. (Brasília time), initial returns limited to the Asian continent showed Lula winning in five nations and Flávio Bolsonaro leading in six countries.
Candidate polling stations and police incidents in Minas Gerais and Goiás
Both candidates for the federal executive branch cast their ballots during the morning hours in the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Senator Flávio Bolsonaro voted early in the morning at the Barão Homem de Mello Municipal School in the Vila Isabel neighborhood, in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro, accompanied by politician Douglas Ruas, where he called for change in the country.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva voted around 10:00 a.m. at the Dr. João Firmino Correia de Araújo State School in the Assunção neighborhood of São Bernardo do Campo, in the state of São Paulo. Beyond candidate activities at the polls, authorities recorded violent episodes and fatal accidents in the states of Minas Gerais and Goiás during the morning voting window:
- 9:27 a.m. (Brasília time): An attack involving stones and bottles in the municipality of Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, left city councilwoman Iara Pimentel with facial injuries.
- 9:37 a.m. (Brasília time): A 19-year-old man died in the state of Goiás after falling from a truck during a motorcade supporting PL candidate Flávio Bolsonaro.
Alongside the presidential ballot, voters in five Brazilian states—Espírito Santo, Amazonas, Rio Grande do Norte, Acre, and Tocantins—and the Federal District also went to the polls on Sunday (25) to elect their governors. Under Brazil’s electoral calendar, the winner of the presidential runoff is scheduled to take office on January 5, 2027.
