Brazil’s presidential race will be decided in a runoff on October 25, after neither Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva nor Flávio Bolsonaro secured more than 50%+1 of valid votes in Sunday’s first round.
Brazil appears set for a presidential runoff on October 25, as Flávio Bolsonaro of the Liberal Party (PL) holds an early lead over President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the Workers’ Party (PT), with over 98% of polling stations counted.
Neither candidate had crossed the majority of valid votes needed to win outright in the first round, with an irreversible tendency.
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The Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE) began publishing official bulletins shortly after electronic voting machines closed at 5 P.M. local time on Sunday. More than 158 million Brazilians were eligible to vote in the general election, which also chose governors, senators, federal deputies and state deputies, in addition to the president and vice-president.
Flávio Bolsonaro, a far-right senator and the son of former President Jair Bolsonarowho is serving a sentence of more than 27 years in prison for attempting a coup against Lula, has led since the first results arrived. His advantage over Lula, who is seeking reelection, stood at just over seven points at that stage of the count.
Habrá segunda vuelta en Brasil: la definición entre Bolsonaro y Lula será el 25 de octubre pic.twitter.com/ZJ4Ic0YAsa
— TN – Todo Noticias (@todonoticias) October 5, 2026
Text reads: “There will be a runoff in Brazil: the final decision between Bolsonaro and Lula will be on October 25.”
Lead Narrows Gradually
Flávio Bolsonaro’s cushion was considerably larger earlier in the night. When about a quarter of the ballots had been tallied, he led by more than 10 points, and when a little over a third had been counted he was still just above the majority mark. The gap has been shrinking as the count advances.
The pattern reflects the order in which results arrive. Most of the bulletins counted so far come from the south, a region that has historically favored right-wing parties. Lula’s campaign is counting on the northeast, a stronghold of the Workers’ Party, to cut into the difference as more ballots are tallied.
The trend echoes the 2022 first round, when Jair Bolsonaro led early on the strength of southern votes before Lula moved ahead with roughly 70% of ballots counted. Lula finished that round about five points ahead. Partial counts can change substantially as results arrive from different regions, so the current figures are not final.
As no candidate exceeds half of the valid votes (50+1), Lula and Bolsonaro will face each other in a second round on October 25. The remaining ballots, especially those from the northeast, will determine how wide the final gap is and whether Bolsonaro can still reach the majority threshold.
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