Brazil: Bolsonaro son leads the presidential elections with 50.74% after the initial vote
Quick Look
- In Brazil, with almost 32% of the ballots counted in the 2026 presidential and legislative elections, Flavio Bolsonaro is in the lead with 50.74% of the votes, followed by Lula at 41.14%.
- If Bolsonaro exceeds 50%, he wins in the first round and becomes president in 2027; otherwise we will go to the run-off on October 25th.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The 2026 presidential and legislative elections in Brazil involve over 158 million voters, with votes for president, governors, federal deputies, senators and state deputies. If no presidential candidate exceeds 50% in the first round, a run-off takes place between the two most voted.
Brazil awaits the outcome of the presidential and legislative elections. Voting operations closed at 10pm Italian time in the approximately 500,000 polling stations spread across the 27 states of the country and electronic counting began immediately. The two main presidential candidates decided to follow the counting in two different cities: Flavio Bolsonaro in Brasilia, the outgoing president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Sao Paulo. With almost 32% of the ballots counted, Bolsonaro is in the lead with 50.74% of the votes while Lula is second with 41.14%. If the eldest son of former president Jair Bolsonaro were to exceed 50% of the votes, he would win in the first round, becoming the country's next president and assuming office in 2027. Otherwise there would be a runoff, scheduled for October 25.
The elections in Brazil
For the 2026 presidential and legislative elections, there were over 158 million people entitled to vote, distributed across 2,641 electoral zones and 517,206 sections, in Brazil and abroad. In addition to the President of the Republic, the elections concern 27 state governors, 513 federal deputies, 54 senators out of a total of 81 and 1,059 deputies of the state and district legislative assemblies. For the election of the president and governors, if no one obtains more than 50% of the valid votes in the first round, a second round is scheduled between the two most voted candidates.
See also
Brazil, voting for parliamentarians and presidents: the candidates
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
If Flavio Bolsonaro does not exceed 50% of the votes, there will be a run-off on October 25 between him and Lula.
Likely · Within weeks
Open Questions
- What will the final turnout be in the elections?
- How will the outcome affect Brazil's economic and social policies?
- What will be the international reactions to the election outcome?
