Flavio Bolsonaro edges out da Silva in first round of Brazil's presidential election
Senator Flavio Bolsonaro narrowly led incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the first round of Brazil's presidential election, with a runoff set for October 25 after neither candidate passed the 50% threshold.
With 99.99% of ballots counted in the first round of Brazil's presidential election, Flavio Bolsonaro, senator for Rio de Janeiro and eldest son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, took the lead with 47% of the vote. Incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva received 45% support. Brazil's central electoral commission released the results on the night of October 5, with voter turnout at 78.92%.
Since no candidate cleared the required 50% threshold, Brazil will hold a runoff on October 25. A second round has become something of a tradition in Brazilian presidential elections — every such election since the early 2000s has required a runoff vote.
Political background
In 2022, Lula da Silva defeated Jair Bolsonaro — the father of current contender Flavio Bolsonaro — also in a runoff. The elder Bolsonaro refused to accept the results at the time, and his supporters took to the streets in protest. He was later sentenced to a lengthy prison term over an attempted coup. In June 2026, Brazil's Supreme Court sentenced Eduardo Bolsonaro, another son of the former president who was also active in politics, to four years and two months in prison. The criminal case stemmed from Eduardo's calls for the United States to impose sanctions on Brazil over his father's sentencing. Eduardo lives in the United States, and the case against him was tried in absentia.
Controversial record
Although the 45-year-old Flavio Bolsonaro campaigned partly on promises to fight crime, he has himself previously faced suspicion of corruption and illegal appropriation of funds. In 2019, cases were opened against him over payments for nonexistent staff members and suspicious transfers to his bank account.
Brazil is also continuing to investigate Banco Master and its largest shareholder, Daniel Vorcaro, over allegedly fraudulent fundraising worth tens of millions of dollars from state and private funds, based on unfulfillable promises of high returns — potentially amounting to a financial pyramid scheme. Vorcaro is also known as a producer of a flattering biographical film about Jair Bolsonaro, and media have previously published correspondence between Vorcaro and Flavio Bolsonaro suggesting the senator may have known about the alleged fraud scheme.
