Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva secured an unexpected victory in the country’s presidential runoff election on Sunday, winning a fourth term and reinforcing his status as one of the longest-serving democratically elected leaders worldwide. With over 99% of votes tallied, official results showed Lula capturing 51.8% of the vote against 48.2% for his opponent, Flávio Bolsonaro.

The election marked a notable political contest between Lula, the candidate from the leftist Workers’ Party, and Flávio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted of attempting to overturn Lula’s 2022 victory. Lula’s triumph followed a rare electoral dynamic in Brazil, as he became the first presidential candidate in the country’s contemporary democratic era to lose the initial round before prevailing decisively in the runoff.

The outcome was shaped in part by a controversial decision to extend voting hours on Sunday evening. The Workers’ Party requested this extension after reports surfaced that some local governments had limited bus services to impoverished neighborhoods—areas known to strongly favor Lula. Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin, who previously served as Lula’s personal defense lawyer during the Car Wash corruption investigation, approved the extension, granting voters additional time just after polls were initially scheduled to close. This ruling elicited sharp criticism from Bolsonaro’s camp, which described it as an unacceptable interference and vowed to challenge the election results.

The extended voting window reportedly prompted disorder at some polling stations. Nonetheless, the last-minute mobilization efforts by musicians, celebrities, and campaign workers successfully encouraged many first-round abstainers to participate in the runoff, contributing to one of the lowest abstention rates in recent elections at approximately 19%. Observers noted that this increased turnout was critical to Lula’s narrow but decisive win.

Following his victory announcement, Lula, who will turn 81 in two days, expressed gratitude to Brazilian voters, dedicating his success to elderly citizens. Supporters celebrated across São Paulo, with cheers and honking horns echoing through the city’s streets and apartment windows.

Flávio Bolsonaro, however, refused to accept the election outcome and indicated plans to seek annulment of the vote, maintaining that the Supreme Court’s intervention compromised the fairness of the process. The dispute underscores ongoing tensions in Brazil’s politically polarized environment as Lula prepares to extend his leadership into a fourth term.