Brazil Election 2026: Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro Advance to Second Round

Brasília, Brazil | October 5, 2026 : Brazil’s presidential election is heading for a second round, with incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro emerging as the two leading candidates after the first round of voting on October 4.

According to Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE), with 99.99% of voting machines counted by 12:21 a.m. on October 5, Flávio Bolsonaro had received 56,104,268 votes, or 47.03% of valid votes, while Lula had secured 53,876,617 votes, or 45.16%. The two candidates therefore qualified for the runoff because neither received more than half of the valid votes in the first round.

The second round is scheduled for October 25, 2026, when Brazilian voters will choose between the two candidates for president and vice president. The date is set in the official electoral calendar of the TSE.

A closely contested first round

The first round produced a relatively narrow gap between the two leading candidates. Flávio Bolsonaro finished ahead of Lula, but the difference between them was only a few percentage points.

The final figures reported by the TSE at the end of the count put Flávio at 47.03% and Lula at 45.16% of valid votes. The other presidential candidates collectively accounted for the remaining share of the vote.

The election had a large electorate. The TSE said 158,745,463 voters were eligible to participate in the 2026 general election. Voting took place across Brazil, while Brazilians living abroad voted for president and vice president. Justiça Eleitoral

Who are the two candidates?

Flávio Bolsonaro, 45, is a lawyer and senator representing Rio de Janeiro. He previously served as a state deputy in Rio de Janeiro and is running for president for the first time. His vice-presidential running mate is federal deputy Alfredo Gaspar, according to the TSE.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, 80, is the incumbent president and is seeking another term in office. Originally from Garanhuns in Pernambuco, Lula previously served as president from 2003 to 2010 before returning to the presidency in 2023. His vice-presidential running mate is Geraldo Alckmin, a physician and former governor of São Paulo.

The TSE had formally approved both presidential tickets before the election. Its September decision validated the Lula–Alckmin ticket from the Workers’ Party (PT) and the Flávio Bolsonaro–Alfredo Gaspar ticket from the Liberal Party (PL), among other presidential candidacies.

What happens next?

The result now begins a new phase of Brazil’s presidential election. The two finalists will campaign for the October 25 runoff, with voters choosing between the two tickets.

Under the TSE’s electoral calendar, campaigning activities for second-round candidates resume after the legally defined post-first-round period. The calendar also sets October 24 as the final day for certain campaign activities such as rallies and marches before voting day.

The second round is necessary because Brazilian presidential elections require a candidate to obtain more than half of the valid votes to win outright in the first round. Since neither Lula nor Flávio reached that threshold, the election proceeds to a runoff between the two highest vote-getters.

Election monitoring and security

Brazilian authorities also operated a nationwide security and monitoring structure during the election. The Ministry of Justice and Public Security said its 2026 Election Operation was monitored in real time through the National Integrated Command and Control Centre in Brasília, working with state-level command centres.

The Federal Police separately reported that it was investigating suspected electoral crimes during the first round. In a preliminary October 4 update, the police said six investigations had been opened and 18 incident reports had been filed, while 129 people had been taken into custody in connection with cases under investigation. The figures were explicitly described as preliminary.

Why the October 25 vote matters

The runoff will determine who leads Brazil for the next presidential term. Flávio Bolsonaro enters the second round after finishing first in the initial vote, while Lula enters after finishing second and seeking another term as president. The final decision will now be made directly by Brazilian voters on October 25.

For now, the official position is straightforward: Brazil’s 2026 presidential election has moved from a multi-candidate first round to a two-candidate runoff between Flávio Bolsonaro and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The TSE will continue publishing and updating official election information through its results system.