Lula Re-Elected After STF Extends Voting and TSE Pauses Count

Overview

• The presidential runoff between Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, proceeded under widespread operational strain including early replacement of hundreds of electronic voting machines.
• At about 4:32 p.m. the Supreme Federal Court minister Cristiano Zanin ordered a two-hour nationwide extension of voting to 7 p.m., a decision that reached courts and election officials as many sections were already closing.
• The Tribunal Superior Eleitoral halted its apuração or totalization when the STF order arrived, later resumed counting and declared Lula the winner with roughly 51.79% of valid votes to Flávio Bolsonaro’s 48.21%.
• Flávio Bolsonaro rejected the result and his campaign announced plans to seek annulment, while regional authorities opened probes into transport disruptions, including an order related to roughly 75 buses held in Salvador that led TRE-BA to seek action against the city mobility secretary.
• Election authorities and independent audits have defended the integrity of Brazil’s electronic system even as the episode exposed gaps in election-day logistics, created institutional friction between the STF and TSE, and raised the prospect of extended legal fights during the transition.