Lula Wins a Fourth Term in Brazil as Flávio Bolsonaro Refuses to Concede

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won Brazil’s presidential runoff on Sunday, defeating right-wing Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro and securing a fourth, nonconsecutive term in Latin America’s largest country.

Lula received more than 64 million votes to fewer than 60 million for Mr. Bolsonaro, a margin of more than four million, according to official counts reported by Al Jazeera and CBS News. Al Jazeera put his share at just over 51 percent. Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court called the race shortly after 9 p.m. in Brasília.

The result reversed the first round on Oct. 4, when Mr. Bolsonaro finished narrowly ahead, about 47 percent to 45 percent. Al Jazeera reported that Lula is the first politician in modern Brazilian history to lose the first round and then win the runoff. Lula, who previously won in 2002, 2006 and 2022, is 80 years old and is scheduled to be sworn in on Jan. 5.

Mr. Bolsonaro has not conceded. He objected to a ruling by Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin that kept polling places open two extra hours, until 7 p.m., saying the rules had been changed mid-contest, and he said he would take legal action to annul the result. Lula’s allies had complained that public transportation was suspended in some areas on election day, which they said was meant to keep his working-class supporters from voting. Al Jazeera reported that both campaigns had asked for the extension for different reasons, and cited an academic estimate that it produced only about 35,000 additional votes, far fewer than the winning margin.

The leader of Mr. Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party, Valdemar Costa Neto, said on Monday that the party recognized the result while still wanting its concerns clarified, according to Al Jazeera.

President Trump weighed in on Monday, suggesting without evidence that the vote was rigged, both outlets reported. His administration has backed the Bolsonaro family, and last year it imposed 50 percent tariffs on some Brazilian goods and sanctioned judges involved in the case against Mr. Bolsonaro’s father.

That father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup after losing to Lula in 2022. CBS News reported that Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered Flávio Bolsonaro to surrender his passports in a sealed order issued on election day.

Lula’s supporters credit his third term with lower poverty, while his critics point to his age, worries about crime, rising household debt and the cost of living, issues that helped the right perform strongly in congressional races. Lula will face what Al Jazeera described as the most right-leaning Congress in recent memory.

Courts and election authorities have validated the count, and the losing side’s own party has accepted it, but the coming weeks will show whether Mr. Bolsonaro presses his challenge.