Senator Flávio Bolsonaro led incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by about 1.8 percentage points. The two will face each other in an October 25 runoff.
Senator Flávio Bolsonaro finished first in Brazil’s presidential election, leading incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by about 1.8 percentage points, or 2.2 million votes. Neither candidate won the majority needed for an outright victory. The runoff is scheduled for October 25.
The result surprised Lula’s camp. The president had said he expected to win in the first round, but after the count he called the next stage “a new campaign” in which voters would make a direct choice between the candidates and their platforms. Flávio, the eldest son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, said the country was demanding change and that the Workers’ Party (PT) era was ending.
The rightward shift extended beyond the presidential contest. Flávio’s Liberal Party (PL) made substantial gains in Congress, the Senate and state assemblies. The report says the party won 19 Senate seats. When the new chamber takes office in February 2027, its representation is expected to rise from 15 to 28 seats. The source says the PL’s growth came mainly at the expense of traditional conservative and centre-right parties.
Voting patterns also differed between municipalities. Flávio won 52% of valid votes in places with an above-average evangelical population. In municipalities with the highest concentration of Catholics, Lula’s share fell by 11 percentage points compared with his previous performance. The figures describe voting patterns but do not establish individual voters’ motives.
Both campaigns now need to reach beyond their core supporters. Bolsonaro is expected to court voters whose preferred right-wing candidates did not advance, along with people who abstained or cast blank or invalid ballots. Lula has also targeted non-voters. More than 33 million people stayed away in the first round, the highest number since 1998.
Lula’s challenge is to keep the runoff from becoming a referendum on the PT and rebuild the broad coalition that returned him to office in 2022. Bolsonaro enters the next phase with the advantage of finishing first and with allies in states where gubernatorial contests will also go to a second round. Brazil’s next president will be chosen on October 25.