Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE), the body that oversees national elections, paused the official tally of the presidential runoff on Sunday (25) with 0.25% of polling stations counted, showing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the Workers’ Party (PT) ahead with 57.66% of valid votes against 42.34% for Senator Flávio Bolsonaro of the Liberal Party (PL). The suspension occurred at 5:06 p.m. Brasília time, after Justice Cristiano Zanin of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), the country’s highest constitutional court, ordered nationwide voting hours extended by two hours until 7:00 p.m.
Before the tally was halted with 1,225 polling stations processed on October 25, 2026, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who appears on the electronic ballot under number 13, had accumulated 193,574 valid votes. Flávio Bolsonaro, running for the presidency under ballot number 22, held 142,169 valid votes in the same initial release. The electoral authority had begun publishing the national numbers shortly after 5:00 p.m., the originally scheduled closing time for polling stations across the country.
Justice Cristiano Zanin issued the urgent injunction after the coalition backing Lula filed petitions reporting public transit disruptions in at least nine states—São Paulo, Alagoas, Pernambuco, Roraima, Piauí, Paraíba, Pará, Paraná, and Rio de Janeiro—following an earlier filing concerning the Bahian municipalities of Salvador, Feira de Santana, and Lauro de Freitas. “Considering the gravity of the facts narrated, which came to the knowledge of the Supreme Federal Court at 16:32:49 on this date, and given the evident urgency of the measure, I order a two-hour extension, until 7:00 p.m. Brasília time, for the closing of vote receipt in all polling stations throughout Brazil, with the TSE responsible for compliance,” Zanin stated in his decision.
The 2026 runoff election involves an electorate of 158,745,502 registered citizens eligible to cast ballots in Brazil and at diplomatic missions abroad, alongside gubernatorial runoffs in the Federal District and five states: Acre, Amazonas, Espírito Santo, Rio Grande do Norte, and Tocantins. Earlier on Sunday (25), at 9:30 a.m., the electoral court issued guidelines for voters needing to submit an official absence justification. In the first round held on October 4, 2026, Flávio Bolsonaro received 56,104,268 valid votes (47.03%), while Lula obtained 53,876,617 votes (45.16%), with 2,300,781 blank ballots (1.84%) and 3,674,149 spoiled ballots (2.93%).
Overseas ballot returns across Europe, Asia, and Oceania
Prior to the release of domestic totals, polling stations abroad concluded voting according to local time zones, where nearly 1 million Brazilians are registered across 186 cities. In Europe, ballot box reports released by the TSE showed Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva winning in 25 of the 29 countries with polling stations, securing 141,263 votes (59.66%) compared to 95,499 votes (40.34%) for Flávio Bolsonaro. In Germany, Lula received 16,549 votes (79.09%) to Bolsonaro’s 4,374 (20.91%), while in Austria the incumbent president tallied 1,178 votes (74.98%) against 393 (25.02%) for the challenger.
In an earlier partial summary of overseas returns consolidated by the electoral court up to 10:40 a.m. Brasília time and released at 11:26 a.m., Flávio Bolsonaro held a lead with 33,642 votes and confirmed wins in seven countries, while Lula had 15,272 votes and led in five nations. That morning lead for the PL candidate was driven by Japan, where Bolsonaro obtained 28,538 votes (80.08%) against 7,098 votes (19.92%) for Lula, in addition to wins in the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong (133 votes to 127), the Philippines (39 to 27), Indonesia (23 to 15), Malaysia (44 to 41), and Thailand (60 to 56).
In the first dispatches from the Asian and Oceania time zones reported from 9:17 a.m. onward, Lula secured victories in Australia with 6,017 votes (63.46%) to Bolsonaro’s 3,465 (36.54%), as well as in New Zealand with 418 votes (80.54%) against 101 (19.46%). The PT candidate also finished ahead in mainland China with 375 votes (73.67%) to 134 (26.33%), South Korea with 148 votes (64.35%) to 82 (35.65%), Singapore with 213 votes to 81, and India with 25 votes to 23.
Morning voting by both presidential candidates in Southeastern Brazil
Both contenders cast their ballots in Brazil’s Southeast region during the morning of Sunday (25). Flávio Bolsonaro voted early in the day at the Barão Homem de Mello Municipal School in the Vila Isabel neighborhood, in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro. Accompanied at the polling location by political ally Douglas Ruas, the senator called for change in the country in remarks documented at 9:54 a.m.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva voted at approximately 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. The president’s participation at the São Paulo state school was logged in the election monitoring report at 10:11 a.m.
Security incidents in Minas Gerais and Goiás and the election day timeline
Public security authorities recorded two violent incidents during the morning voting hours in different states. In Montes Claros, in the state of Minas Gerais, city councilor Iara Pimentel sustained facial injuries after being targeted with stones and bottles. In the state of Goiás, a 19-year-old man died after falling from a truck while taking part in a motorcade organized in support of Flávio Bolsonaro’s presidential campaign.
Key events and official releases throughout the runoff election on Sunday (25) followed Brasília time:
- 09:17 a.m.: Initial overseas reports from Asia show Lula winning in five countries and Flávio Bolsonaro leading in six.
- 09:27 a.m.: Authorities record the stone and bottle attack that injured city councilor Iara Pimentel in Montes Claros, Minas Gerais.
- 09:30 a.m.: The Superior Electoral Court publishes official instructions for voters needing to justify their absence in the runoff.
- 09:37 a.m.: Officials confirm the death of a 19-year-old man following a fall from a truck during a pro-Flávio Bolsonaro motorcade in Goiás.
- 09:54 a.m.: Flávio Bolsonaro casts his ballot in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro alongside Douglas Ruas.
- 10:00 a.m.: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva votes at his designated polling station in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo.
- 10:40 a.m.: Cutoff for the morning overseas bulletin showing 33,642 votes for the PL candidate and 15,272 for the PT candidate.
- 04:32 p.m.: The Supreme Federal Court formally receives the urgent petition regarding public transport disruptions affecting voters.
- 05:00 p.m.: The TSE begins releasing the first national vote totals for the presidential runoff.
- 05:06 p.m.: The TSE pauses the release of results at 0.25% of polling stations counted to comply with Justice Cristiano Zanin’s order extending nationwide voting until 7:00 p.m.
