Brazil election run-off today: Lula vs Flavio Bolsonaro tied after 47% to 45% first round

Brazil votes today, Sunday 25 October, in a presidential run-off between the leftwing incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his far-right rival Flavio Bolsonaro, with the two tied in the polls, The Guardian reported. Nearly 159 million Brazilians are eligible to vote.

Brazil election 2026: the numbers

Flavio Bolsonaro is the son of Jair Bolsonaro, president from 2019 to 2022. He has campaigned on a promise to tackle violent crime with an iron fist, and most analysts quoted by The Guardian see him as the slight favourite. Lula, first elected in 2002, has climbed in recent polls.

No first-round loser has come back to win since Brazil returned to democracy in the 1980s, so a Lula win would be a first.

The eve-of-vote rallies

Rio de Janeiro's City Hall said about 1.1 million people filled Copacabana beach for Lula's final rally on Saturday. Both candidates held big closing events, Al Jazeera reported. Large pro-Lula street protests, many led by students, have spread across Brazil since his first-round defeat.

When results come, in Pakistan time

Polls close in the evening in Brasilia, which is eight hours behind Pakistan, so the result is expected in the early hours of Monday 26 October, PKT.

Why it matters here

Brazil is one of the world's largest food exporters and a member of BRICS, and its next president will shape trade with Asia. We will update this page with the result. For what world events do to the rupee, see our dollar rate page.