Politics
Brazil’s Liberal Party recognizes Lula’s win as Flávio Bolsonaro pursues legal challenge
The party acknowledged Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s reelection, but its candidate has not conceded and says he will seek to disqualify the result. Lula won just over 51% of the vote, while Donald Trump questioned the election without offering evidence of fraud.
BRASÍLIA, Brazil — Brazil’s Liberal Party has recognized President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s victory in the Oct. 25 presidential runoff, while its defeated candidate, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, has not conceded and says he will challenge the result in court.
Party president Valdemar Costa Neto said Monday that the party accepted the outcome but still wanted questions about the vote clarified. Bolsonaro initially said he would seek to annul the results. In a video posted Monday, he instead said he would seek to have Lula’s victory disqualified, alleging abuses of political and economic power. He offered no evidence for that claim.
Lula received just over 51% of valid votes, about 64.2 million, compared with more than 48%, or nearly 59.8 million, for Bolsonaro, according to Brazil’s electoral authority. Lula’s win followed a first-round result in which he trailed Bolsonaro. He gained more than 10 million votes between rounds, aided by increased turnout and support from voters who had backed other candidates or stayed home.
U.S. President Donald Trump questioned the election’s legitimacy on Monday, saying it “looked like another rigged election.” He offered no evidence of fraud.
The dispute includes a decision to extend voting hours on election day. Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered polling stations to remain open for two additional hours, until 7 p.m., after Lula’s campaign cited disruptions to public transportation. Bolsonaro’s campaign also sought an extension, citing heavy rain in southern Brazil.
Bolsonaro said in his video that federal police had ordered him to surrender his passports and barred him from leaving the country. The order came from Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes in connection with a separate investigation, according to the report. Bolsonaro said it followed comments by his brother Eduardo, who lives in the United States, suggesting he should leave Brazil if he lost.
The election puts Lula back in office for a fourth term, but his party faces a stronger conservative opposition in Congress and a sharply divided electorate. Political analyst Thiago Vidal said the victory gives Lula a mandate, while warning that governing over the next four years will be difficult.
Lula credited young people with helping mobilize support. In his victory speech in São Paulo, he thanked Brazilian youth for taking to the streets to defend democracy. The campaign also leaned more heavily on digital outreach in its final weeks, including WhatsApp and Instagram, as Lula sought support across age groups and regions.