Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been re-elected, beating Senator Flávio Bolsonaro by 51.78% to 48.22% in Sunday's run-off, MercoPress reports. The figures come from the Superior Electoral Court, with almost every vote counted.
Lula, 80, received about 64.2 million votes, some 4.4 million more than his rival, and will serve a fourth term from 2027. He is the first candidate since Brazil's return to direct presidential elections in 1989 to win after finishing second in the first round.
Polls had shown the race tied. After trailing in the first round on 4 October, his campaign focused on getting non-voters to the polls, while the government raised Bolsa Família payments by 15%. Bolsonaro had campaigned on security, living costs and spending cuts.
Source: MercoPress
