Jorge Cortés Bruna

It has been suggested that this article be split out into multiple articles. (Discuss) (October 2026)

2026 Brazilian general election

← 2022 2030 →
Presidential election
4 October 2026 (first round) 25 October 2026 (second round)
Opinion polls
Turnout	78.92% (first round; 0.13 pp) 80.78% (second round; 1.57 pp)
Candidate Lula da Silva Flávio Bolsonaro Party PT PL Alliance Brazil Ready for More None Running mate Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) Alfredo Gaspar Popular vote 64,256,232 59,826,041 Percentage 51.79% 48.21%
First round results by state First round results by municipality Second round results by state
President before election Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva PT Elected President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva PT
Chamber of Deputies
← 2022 4 October 2026 2030 →
outgoing members elected members
All 513 seats in the Chamber of Deputies 257 seats needed for a majority
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/– PL Sóstenes Cavalcante 22.69 121 +22 FE Brasil Pedro Uczai 14.81 88 +7 UPB Moses Rodrigues 13.69 87 −19 PSD Antonio Brito 8.34 43 +1 Republicanos Augusto Coutinho 7.10 41 +1 MDB Isnaldo Bulhões 7.00 36 −6 PODE Rodrigo Gambale 5.28 27 +9 PSOL-REDE Tarcísio Motta 4.91 15 +1 PSB Jonas Donizette 4.44 15 +1 PSDB–Cidadania Adolfo Viana 2.80 11 −7 NOVO Gilson Marques 2.58 10 +7 Solidary Renewal Áureo Ribeiro 1.98 7 −2 PDT André Figueiredo 1.50 6 −11 Avante Waldemar Oliveira 1.62 5 −2 Missão Kim Kataguiri 1.04 1 New This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Federal Senate
← 2018 4 October 2026 2034 →
outgoing members elected members
54 of the 81 seats in the Federal Senate 41 seats needed for a majority
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/– PL Carlos Portinho 28.11 29 +14 PT Camilo Santana 13.16 9 0 MDB Eduardo Braga 5.73 8 −1 PP Tereza Cristina 10.65 6 −2 Republicanos Alan Rick 4.30 6 0 UNIÃO Dorinha Rezende 3.84 5 +2 PSD Omar Aziz 5.07 5 −9 PSB Cid Gomes 7.14 4 −2 NOVO 5.34 3 +3 PODE Alexandre Giordano 1.91 2 −1 PSDB Plínio Valério 1.34 2 −2 REDE 5.20 1 +1 PDT Weverton Rocha 2.60 1 −1 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

General elections were held in Brazil on 4 October 2026 to elect the president, vice president, members of the National Congress, the governors, vice governors and legislative assemblies of all federative units, and the district council of Fernando de Noronha. As no candidate for president (and for governor in some states) received more than half of the valid votes in the first round, a runoff election was held on 25 October.

In the first round, senator Flávio Bolsonaro of the state of Rio de Janeiro, the eldest son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, led with 47% of the vote over incumbent president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's 45%. In the second round, Lula overcame his first-round loss and was re-elected in an upset victory to a fourth non-consecutive term as president, outperforming his 2022 result. It was the first instance of a Brazilian presidential election in which the winner of the first round was defeated in the runoff.

Having unsuccessfully run for president in 1989, 1994 and 1998, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the left-wing Workers' Party was elected in 2002 and 2006. He was then succeeded by his chief of staff, Dilma Rousseff, who was elected in 2010 and 2014. In 2016, Rousseff was removed from office due to administrative misconduct and was succeeded by her vice president, Michel Temer, of the centrist Brazilian Democratic Movement. Lula attempted to run for president again, but was prevented due to his conviction on corruption charges in 2017 as part of Operation Car Wash and imprisoned in 2018. Right-wing candidate Jair Bolsonaro of the Social Liberal Party was elected president in 2018. Bolsonaro left the Social Liberal Party in 2019 and joined the Liberal Party in 2021.

A series of rulings by the Supreme Federal Court (STF) questioning the legality of Lula's trial led to his release from prison in 2019 and the restoration of his political rights by 2021. Lula narrowly defeated Bolsonaro in the 2022 presidential election, securing a non-consecutive third term. In response to his loss, some Bolsonaro supporters demanded a military coup to prevent Lula's inauguration, but failed to gather sufficient support. Bolsonaro was subsequently convicted by the STF, barred from running for a second term before 2030, and arrested in 2025. He endorsed his eldest son, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro.

Brazil's president and vice president are elected as a joint ticket using the two-round system. The first round of elections is held on the first Sunday of October (in this instance, 4 October 2026). A candidate who receives more than half of the valid votes in the first round is elected.

If this threshold is not met by any candidate, the two candidates with the most votes in the first round advance to a second round of voting, held on the last Sunday of October (in this case, 25 October 2026). The candidate with the most votes in the second round is elected. Elections for governors and vice governors of all 26 states and of the Federal District are held on the same dates and with the same two-round system as the presidential election.

Two-thirds of the 81 members of the Brazilian Senate are up for election in 2026, two senators being elected from each of the states and the Federal District using plurality block voting. The other third of the Senate was elected in 2022.

All 513 members of the Chamber of Deputies (federal deputies) are elected from 27 multi-member constituencies corresponding to the states and the Federal District, varying in size from 8 to 70 seats. All members of the state legislative assemblies (state deputies) and of the Legislative Chamber of the Federal District (district deputies), varying in size from 24 to 94 seats, are also elected. These elections are held using open list, proportional representation, with seats allocated using integer quotients and the D'Hondt method.

All seven members of the District Council of Fernando de Noronha are elected by single non-transferable vote. Unlike elections for other offices in Brazil, candidates for this council are not nominated by political parties.

Voting in Brazil is allowed for citizens over 16 years of age and mandatory for literate citizens between 18 and 70 years of age, except conscripts, who are not allowed to vote during their period of mandatory military service. Those who are required but do not vote in an election and do not present an acceptable justification, such as being absent from their voting locality at the time, must pay a fine, normally R$3.51, equivalent to about US$0.70 as of 2026. In some cases, the fine may be waived, reduced, or increased by up to 10 times.

Brazilian citizens residing abroad may only vote for president and vice president. Under the Equality Statute between Brazil and Portugal, Portuguese citizens legally residing in Brazil for more than three years may also register to vote in Brazilian elections.

About 158.7 million people were eligible to vote in the 2026 Brazilian elections.

All candidates for federal, state, Federal District, and municipal offices must be nominated by a political party. For offices to be elected by majority or plurality (executive offices and senators), parties may form an electoral coalition (coligação) to nominate a single candidate. The coalitions do not need to be composed of the same parties for every nomination, do not need to be maintained after the election, and are not valid for offices to be elected proportionally (deputies and aldermen).

Parties may also form a different type of alliance called federation (federação), which acts as a single party to nominate candidates for all offices in all locations, including those to be elected proportionally, and must be maintained with a single leadership structure over the course of the elected legislature. Federations may also act as parties to form coalitions. For the 2026 election, the registered federations are Brazil of Hope (PT–PCdoB–PV), Always Forward (PSDB–Cidadania), PSOL REDE Federation (PSOL–REDE), Solidary Renewal (PRD–Solidarity), and Progressive Union (Union–PP).

For offices to be elected proportionally, each party must nominate candidates of each sex in a distribution between 30 and 70%. Parties must also allocate their funds and broadcast time proportionally to the number of their candidates of each sex and race, with a minimum of 30% of funds for Black and Brown candidates.

Voting in Brazilian elections can only be done in person and only on election day, which is always a Sunday. There is no provision for postal or early voting. Voter registration must be done in advance, and each voter can only vote in one designated voting station, either based on the voter's registered domicile or at a different location that the voter must specifically request if planning to be there temporarily on election day. Voters must provide photo identification at their voting station before proceeding to vote.

About 95,000 voting stations are installed in all municipalities of Brazil, the Federal District, and Fernando de Noronha. Most voting stations are in public schools. In some sparsely populated areas, such as indigenous territories, the installation and use of voting stations requires extensive travel and logistics. Voting stations are also installed in 164 locations in other countries, mostly in Brazilian diplomatic missions, for citizens residing abroad.

Voting is done almost entirely on direct-recording electronic voting machines, designed for extreme simplicity. The voter dials a number corresponding to the desired candidate or party, causing the name and photo of the candidate or party to appear on the screen, then the voter presses a green button to confirm or an orange button to correct and try again. It is also possible to leave the vote blank by pressing a white button, or to nullify the vote by dialing a number that does not correspond to any candidate or party. Paper ballots are only used in case a voting machine malfunctions or in locations abroad with fewer than 100 voters.

The electronic system is subject to extensive tests, including on machines randomly selected from actual voting stations on election day, witnessed by political parties to rule out fraud. After voting ends, every machine prints a record of its total votes for each candidate or party, which is publicly displayed for comparison with the results published electronically. The system delivers the complete election results usually a few hours after voting ends, which is extremely fast for such a large population as Brazil. However, the system does not create a physical record of individual votes to allow a full recount.

Voting stations operate at the same time in the whole country, regardless of their time zone: 9:00 to 18:00 UTC−02:00, 8:00 to 17:00 UTC−03:00, 7:00 to 16:00 UTC−04:00, and 6:00 to 15:00 UTC−05:00. The unified voting time does not apply to voting stations for citizens abroad, which operate from 8:00 to 17:00 local time, ranging from 16 hours before to 4 hours after those in Brazil.

Unusual in the world, Brazilian elections are administered by the judiciary. Brazil has one Superior Electoral Court (Tribunal Superior Eleitoral, TSE), and each state and the Federal District have a Regional Electoral Court (Tribunal Regional Eleitoral, TRE), all headed by judges selected from other courts. The electoral courts are responsible for judicial tasks such as ruling on disputes and potential violations of electoral law, and for implementing the elections, such as registering voters and candidates, installing voting machines, counting votes, publishing the results, and issuing regulations and monitoring compliance.

Party		Presidential candidate		Vice presidential candidate		Coalition	Free airtime
	Workers' Party (PT 13)		Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (campaign) President of Brazil (2003–2011, 2023–present) Federal deputy for São Paulo (1987–1991)		Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) Vice President of Brazil (2023–present) Governor of São Paulo (2001–2006, 2011–2018) Vice Governor of São Paulo (1995–2001) Federal deputy for São Paulo (1987–1995) Mayor of Pindamonhangaba (1977–1982)	Brazil Ready for More: Brazil of Hope (PT, PCdoB, PV) PSOL REDE Federation (PSOL, REDE) Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) Democratic Labour Party (PDT)	5min32s
	Mission Party (MISSÃO 14)		Renan Santos		Aroldo Medina	Standalone party	—N/a
	United Socialist Workers' Party (PSTU 16)		Hertz Dias		Vanessa Portugal	Standalone party	—N/a
	Brazilian Communist Party (PCB 21)		Edmilson Costa		Cleusa Santos	Standalone party	—N/a
	Liberal Party (PL 22)		Flávio Bolsonaro (campaign) Senator for Rio de Janeiro (2019–present)		Alfredo Gaspar Federal deputy for Alagoas (2023–present)	Standalone party	4min20s
	Christian Democracy (DC 27)		Clariana Barão		Fabiana Torquato	Standalone party	—N/a
	Workers' Cause Party (PCO 29)		Rui Costa Pimenta		Antônio Carlos	Standalone party	—N/a
	New Party (NOVO 30)		Romeu Zema Governor of Minas Gerais (2019–2026)		Eduardo Girão Senator for Ceará (2019–present)	Standalone party	—N/a
	Democrata (DEMOCRATA 35)		Wilson Grassi		Suêd Haidar	Standalone party	—N/a
	Social Democratic Party (PSD 55)		Ronaldo Caiado (campaign) Governor of Goiás (2019–2026) Senator for Goiás (2015–2019) Federal deputy for Goiás (1991–1995, 1999–2015)		Gilberto Kassab Minister of Science and Technology (2016–2019) Minister of Cities (2015–2016) Mayor of São Paulo (2006–2013) Vice Mayor of São Paulo (2005–2006) Federal deputy for São Paulo (1999–2005)	Standalone party	2min02s
	Avante (AVANTE 70)		Augusto Cury		Júlio Delgado Federal deputy for Minas Gerais (1999–2000, 2003–2023)	Brazil of Our Dreams: Avante Agir	36s
	Popular Unity (UP 80)		Samara Martins		Raquel Brício	Standalone party	—N/a

Withdrawn or declined to be candidates

Leonardo Avalanche, national president of the Brazilian Labour Renewal Party (2024–present) Joaquim Barbosa, Justice of the STF (2003–2014) Michelle Bolsonaro, First Lady of Brazil (2019–2023) Cabo Daciolo, federal deputy for Rio de Janeiro (2015–2019) and candidate for president in 2018 Tarcísio de Freitas, governor of São Paulo (2023–present), minister of Infrastructure (2019–2022), and director general of the National Department of Transport Infrastructure (2014–2015) Ciro Gomes, federal deputy for Ceará (2007–2011), minister of national integration (2003–2006) and of finance (1994), governor of Ceará (1991–1994), and candidate for president in 1998, 2002, 2018, and 2022 Fernando Haddad, minister of finance (2023–2026), mayor of São Paulo (2013–2017), minister of education (2005–2012), and runner-up candidate in 2018 Ratinho Júnior, governor of Paraná (2019–present) and federal deputy for Paraná (2007–2015) Eduardo Leite, governor of Rio Grande do Sul (2019–2022, 2023–present) Gusttavo Lima, singer and songwriter Jones Manoel, communist influencer and political commentator Felipe Neto, YouTuber and businessman Aécio Neves, federal deputy for Minas Gerais (1987–2002, 2019–present), governor of Minas Gerais (2003–2010), senator for Minas Gerais (2011–2019), president of the Chamber of Deputies (2001–2002), and runner-up candidate in 2014 Aldo Rebelo, minister of defence (2015–2016), of science, technology and innovations (2015), and of sports (2011–2015); president of the Chamber of Deputies (2005–2007), chief minister of the Secretariat of Institutional Affairs (2004–2005), and federal deputy for São Paulo (1991–2011) Marina Silva, federal deputy for São Paulo (2026–present), minister of the environment (2003–2008, 2023–2026), senator for Acre (1995–2002, 2008–2011), and candidate for president in 2010, 2014, and 2018

Ineligible or disqualified candidates

The following individuals expressed an interest in running but were ineligible or disqualified: Eduardo Bolsonaro, federal deputy for São Paulo (2015–2025) (endorsed brother Flávio Bolsonaro) When his father Jair Bolsonaro became ineligible, Eduardo Bolsonaro declared his candidacy for president. After being removed from the office of federal deputy, he withdrew his candidacy and declared support for his brother, Flávio Bolsonaro. On 16 June 2026, he became ineligible for 12 years due to his conviction of coercion in the investigation process of the 2022–2023 coup d'état plot for provoking the 2025–2026 Brazil–United States diplomatic dispute. Jair Bolsonaro, president of Brazil (2019–2022) and federal deputy for Rio de Janeiro (1991–2018) (endorsed son Flávio Bolsonaro) On 30 June 2023, Bolsonaro was declared ineligible until 2030 for abuse of political power and misuse of the media after attacking the Brazilian electoral system at a meeting with foreign ambassadors on 18 July 2022, broadcast on the public television network TV Brasil. On 11 September 2025, he was sentenced to 27 years in prison for being involved in the 2022–2023 coup d'état plot. Nikolas Ferreira, federal deputy for Minas Gerais (2023–present) (endorsed Flávio Bolsonaro) Under the Constitution, the president of Brazil must be at least 35 years old at inauguration, and Ferreira would be 30 years old in January 2027. Pablo Marçal, businessman and influencer On 21 February 2025, Marçal was declared ineligible until 2032 for abuse of economic and political power, misuse of the media, and illicit fundraising during his campaign in the 2024 São Paulo mayoral election. He was convicted for the second time in April and for the third time in July for other electoral crimes committed in 2024. On 11 September 2026, the Superior Electoral Court ruled Marçal ineligible due to his lack of affiliation to the nominating party before the required deadline and his previous criminal convictions.

In late October 2025, President Lula da Silva announced the beginning of his re-election campaign, for his fourth presidential term. Some media sources and opposition figures raised concerns about Lula's age, especially following a fall and brain bleed he suffered in December 2024. Polls at the time from Quaest reported that 38% of respondents made crime their primary concern.

In December 2025, Flávio Bolsonaro, senator of Rio de Janeiro and son of the imprisoned Jair Bolsonaro, announced his intended candidacy. Shortly after his announcement, he suggested dropping out of the campaign in return for favors, saying "There's a possibility I won't go all the way, ... have a price for that. I will negotiate." Many believed this meant that Bolsonaro was saying he would drop out of the election if his father was released from prison. Bolsonaro later retracted this statement saying that after speaking with his father, he would continue with his campaign.

Following the first-round results, the Fluminense Federal University (UFF) was the first university to mobilize students to take to the streets on the day after the election, in a movement that inspired other educational institutions across the country. The first demonstration was organised organically and spontaneously, out of a mixture of "anger and fear". Residents came down from their apartment buildings to join the protest, which drew approximately 2,000 to 3,000 people. In his victory speech, Lula gave special thanks to the students who had mobilised across Brazil.

Lula made efforts to make the Constitutional Amendment to End the 6x1 Work Schedule pass, and in October Flávio, as a senator, made the opposition to vote in favor of it.^{[clarification needed]} Bolsonaro once said the proposal was "opportunistic" because it was presented on the eve of the election.

Corruption was a top concern for many voters during the campaign, and a wide-ranging scandal involving politicians and STF justices dominated headlines before the first round. Two cases involved figures from both the government and the opposition.

The Banco Master scandal began when the Central Bank ordered the extrajudicial liquidation of Banco Master on 18 November 2025, citing a severe liquidity crisis and serious violations of financial-system rules. The Federal Police's (PF) Operation Compliance Zero investigates alleged fraud, corruption and money laundering linked to the bank. Its former controlling shareholder, Daniel Vorcaro, was arrested in November 2025, and the PF estimates the total fraud at about R$12 billion. Four public figures have been linked to Vorcaro in the investigations. Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the opposition's presidential candidate, is under Supreme Court investigation over R$61 million that Vorcaro reportedly paid to finance Dark Horse, a film about his father Jair Bolsonaro; he denies wrongdoing and says the money was private sponsorship. A PF report made public on 1 September 2026 recorded messages attributed to Vorcaro and addressed to justice Alexandre de Moraes, and a R$131 million contract between the bank and the law firm of Moraes's wife; Moraes denies wrongdoing. As of October 2026^[update], the Court had not decided whether to open an investigation into him. Senator Ciro Nogueira, who served as Chief of Staff (Casa Civil) under Jair Bolsonaro, was a target of a search warrant on 7 May 2026 after the PF told the Supreme Court he had received undue advantages from Vorcaro; his defense says he took no part in illicit activities. Senator Jaques Wagner, then the Lula government's leader in the Senate, was a target of the operation's ninth phase on 18 June 2026, and left the leadership post on 24 June; he denied wrongdoing.

The INSS fraud scandal involves unauthorized deductions from the benefits of retirees and pensioners by associations and unions; the PF and the comptroller general estimate that about R$6.3 billion was deducted between 2019 and 2024. Investigators also suspect that INSS employees were paid bribes to supply beneficiaries' data. The case reached the president's circle through the lobbyist Antônio Carlos Camilo Antunes, known as "Careca do INSS [pt]", whom the PF identifies as one of the scheme's main operators. Since late July 2026 the Supreme Court has authorized three PF inquiries into president Lula's eldest son, Fábio Luís Lula da Silva (Lulinha [pt]), for alleged influence peddling and corruption on behalf of companies dealing with the federal government, including a medical-cannabis firm linked to Antunes. The third inquiry, authorized by justice Flávio Dino, also targets Marco Aurélio Santana Ribeiro, known as "Marcola", who headed Lula's private office (chefe de gabinete) until 21 July. Lulinha is mentioned in the INSS inquiry itself but is not formally investigated there; he denies irregularities and says he did not know of the INSS scheme. Marcola says a R$220,000 payment from the businesswoman Roberta Luchsinger, who is also under investigation, was a loan that has been repaid, with nothing offered in return.

On 1 September 2026, justice André Mendonça lifted the confidentiality of a 218-page PF report, produced at his request from the phone of former banker Daniel Vorcaro. The disclosure triggered an institutional crisis [pt] at the STF. The report lists messages that the PF attributes to Vorcaro and addressed to justice Alexandre de Moraes, including on 17 November 2025, the day Vorcaro was arrested; it does not include most of the replies attributed to Moraes. It also describes a contract of about R$131 million between Banco Master and the law firm of Moraes's wife, Viviane Barci de Moraes, and does not conclude that Moraes committed a crime. Moraes denied favoring Vorcaro and disputed the authenticity of the messages and the report's chain of custody. The report also mentions prosecutor general Paulo Gonet, citing messages in which the lawyer Ciro Soares appears as an intermediary between him and Vorcaro; Gonet said he had met Vorcaro only once, briefly.

On 3 September, in a decision issued within the Fake News Inquiry, Moraes cited PF intelligence reports to suspect Mendonça of abuse of authority, administrative improbity and crime of responsibility in his handling of the Master and INSS investigations, and asked the court's president, Edson Fachin, to open proceedings against him. On 8 September, Mendonça ordered the preventive removal of the PF's director-general, Andrei Rodrigues, and its intelligence director, Leandro Almada da Costa, alleging that the PF had illegally monitored his work. The next day, 9 September, justice Flávio Dino ordered both officials reinstated. Fachin then suspended the decisions of both Mendonça and Dino, citing the conflicts and procedural overlaps created by the successive rulings, and revoked Moraes's designation as rapporteur of the Fake News Inquiry, taking charge of it himself while preserving the acts already performed. He also moved Moraes's request against Mendonça out of that inquiry into a procedure under the court's presidency, suspended the proceeding on the Vorcaro–Moraes report, and convened an extraordinary plenary session for 15 September to examine, among other points, the legality of Mendonça's order that deepened the analysis of Vorcaro's phone, the validity of the evidence obtained, and the Public Prosecutor's Office's request to annul the procedure.

On 15 September, the plenary met to examine the petition (PET 16662) on whether to open an investigation into Moraes. Justice Nunes Marques declared himself impeded, citing his presidency of the Superior Electoral Court, and justice Dias Toffoli declared himself suspect for reasons of personal conscience (foro íntimo). The court did not reach the merits. It first took up a point of order by justice Gilmar Mendes to merge PET 16662 with PET 16704, which concerns Moraes's request against Mendonça. Fachin, Mendonça, Luiz Fux and Cármen Lúcia voted to keep the cases separate; Gilmar Mendes, Cristiano Zanin and Moraes voted to merge them. Dino also spoke in favor of merging but then requested more time to review the case (pedido de vista) and asked that his position not be counted, leaving a provisional result of 4–3. Dino has up to 90 days to return the case, which would take the resumption to December. On 17 September, Fachin removed PET 16704 from the agenda of the 23 September session, stating that it would be rescheduled at a later date.

United States president Donald Trump showed interest in Brazil's elections, and there were concerns that his administration might interfere in favor of Bolsonaro. Members of the United States Senate issued a joint letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying that his administration was using pressure tactics that could harm Brazil's democracy, and highlighting Darren Beattie's controversial role in the Department of State. They urged the administration to promise to accept the results of the elections in Brazil. Bolsonaro chose to not ask Trump for his endorsement.

Jorge Messias, Lula's attorney general who was unsuccessfully nominated for the STF in 2025, accused the United States of interfering against the Brazilian Supreme Court in a post on X.

In March 2026, through an edict, the TSE contracted to Hughes Telecommunications of Brazil, which would use satellite terminals with the infrastructure of Starlink, which belongs to Elon Musk, to ensure the sending of results from remote areas that do not have conventional data transition infrastructure. This caused controversy due to Musk's ties to the Trump administration, and concerns about data sovereignty.

In October 2026, Intercept Brasil reported that Flavio allegedly paid $600,000 to a US company in order to manipulate the elections.

On 2 October, two days before the first round, foreign embassies in Brazil issued security alerts and advised their citizens in the country to exercise caution. The United States suspended in-person services at its embassy in Brasília and at consulates in the country, citing security concerns but without specifying the alleged threats; in 2022, it had issued a security alert, but the embassy had remained open. The order came from the State Department, headed by Marco Rubio. Following the United States's action, the PF and the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (ABIN) warned of a psychological operation (PSYOP) coordinated by the White House in collusion with Flávio Bolsonaro's campaign, which aimed at a new attempted coup d'état by generating a climate of permanent tension until the first round. This information was obtained by Fórum [pt] and confirmed by a "prominent ambassador" in the government. A PF source stated the attempted coup then underway was intended to intervene in the election in favour of a candidate, generating fear and causing people to vote for Bolsonaro or simply not to vote. This "hybrid warfare" would include the participation of big tech companies and was internally referred to by the Brazilian Intelligence System [pt] (SISBIN) as Operation Brother Sam II, in reference to the operation related to the 1964 military coup. Intelligence agencies believed the Trump administration's decision, through Marco Rubio, may have been carried out through Eduardo Bolsonaro's intervention. Former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee John Kiriakou stated the spy agency was "potentially intervening" in Brazil's elections in favor of Bolsonaro, declaring there is "credible evidence" of this.

Following the defeat of his ally Flávio Bolsonaro, Donald Trump stated, without presenting any indication or evidence, that the election in Brazil "looked like a rigged election"; when asked whether he would do anything about it, Trump said that he "does not govern Brazil" and that he likes president Lula da Silva. Re-elected vice president Geraldo Alckmin criticised Trump's statement, calling it misguided. The United States government had postponed the release of an official statement on the result after Bolsonaro questioned Lula's victory and called for the election to be annulled; the statement had already been prepared and congratulated Brazilians on holding the election. According to international relations researcher Ricardo Leães, Lula's victory blocks Trump's plans in Latin America to "dominate the entire subcontinent and appropriate all the resources".

Endorsements from first-round candidates

First-round candidate		First round	Endorsement		Ref.
	Augusto Cury	2.89%		Flávio Bolsonaro
	Renan Santos	2.24%	No endorsement
	Ronaldo Caiado	2.18%		Flávio Bolsonaro
	Romeu Zema	0.27%		Flávio Bolsonaro
	Samara Martins	0.10%		Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
	Hertz Dias	0.04%		Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
	Clariana Barão	0.03%		Flávio Bolsonaro
	Edmilson Costa	0.02%		Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
	Wilson Grassi	0.01%		Flávio Bolsonaro
	Rui Costa Pimenta	0.01%	No endorsement

Party endorsements in the second round

Candidate		Parties		Ref.
	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva		PT
			PCdoB
			PV
			PSOL
			REDE
			PSB
			PDT
			PSTU
			PCB
			UP
			Agir
	Flávio Bolsonaro		PL
			UNIÃO
			PP
			Republicanos
			PODE
			NOVO
			MDB
No endorsement			PSD
			PSDB
			PRD
			Solidarity
			Cidadania
			PRTB
			PCO

Debates broadcast on television or radio were legally required to invite all candidates whose parties or coalitions had at least five members in the National Congress based on the previous election. Lula, Bolsonaro, Caiado and Cury satisfied this criterion. Debate organizers could also choose to invite additional candidates. Shortly before the last debate for the first round, judges granted injunctions ordering the debate organizers to also invite Zema and Santos.

No.	Date, time and location	Organizations	Moderators	Participants
Key:  P  Present  A  Absent  I  Invited  N  Not invited				Lula PT	Bolsonaro PL	Caiado PSD	Cury Avante	Zema NOVO	Santos Missão	Martins UP
1.1	23 August 2026, 20:00, São Paulo	Bandeirantes, Cultura, Gazeta, Jovem Pan, Estadão	Adriana Araújo, Eduardo Oinegue	A	A	P	P	A	P	N
–	14 September 2026, 22:00, Osasco	SBT, CNN Brasil, RedeTV!, Redevida, Exame, Metrópoles, Novabrasil, Itatiaia, Terra, Veja	Celso Freitas, Mariana Demori	Canceled
–	14 September 2026, 20:00, São Paulo	MathiasTV	Paulo Mathias	Canceled
1.2	18 September 2026, 19:00, São Paulo	Inteligência Ltda., Metrópoles, G4	Rogério Vilela	A	A	A	P	P	A	P
1.3	21 September 2026, 19:00, São Paulo	Flow Podcast	Igor Rodrigues Coelho	A	A	P	P	P	A	N
1.4	23 September 2026, 20:00, São Paulo	Veja, Rede Brasil	Marcela Rahal	A	A	P	A	P	A	N
–	27 September 2026, 21:00, São Paulo	Record	Eduardo Ribeiro	Canceled
–	1 October 2026, 21:00, Rio de Janeiro	Globo	César Tralli	Canceled
–	11 October 2026, 21:00, São Paulo	Record	–	Canceled		Out
–	15 October 2026, Osasco	SBT, CNN Brasil, RedeTV!, Redevida, Exame, Metrópoles, Novabrasil, Itatiaia, Terra, Veja	–	Canceled
2.1	18 October 2026, 20:00, São Paulo	Bandeirantes, Cultura, Gazeta, Jovem Pan, Estadão	Adriana Araújo, Eduardo Oinegue	P	P
2.2	23 October 2026, 21:30, Rio de Janeiro	Globo	César Tralli	P	P

14 September: The debate in Osasco was canceled due to the fact that Lula and Bolsonaro had not confirmed their attendance by the 7 September deadline. The debate in São Paulo was canceled because all the candidates, except Renan Santos, either failed to confirm or canceled their participation.

27 September: The debate was canceled due to the fact that Lula and Bolsonaro had not confirmed their attendance.

1 October: Initially, the candidates whose participation is required by law were invited: Lula, Bolsonaro, Ronaldo Caiado and Augusto Cury. On 29 September, the president of the Superior Electoral Court, Justice Nunes Marques, ruled that Romeu Zema's participation should also be guaranteed, since his party currently holds five seats in the Chamber of Deputies. The next day, 30 September, Lula confirmed he would not take part in the debate. On 1 October, just hours before the debate, TSE Justice Estela Aranha suspended a rule agreed upon by all campaigns, under which an absent candidate would be represented by an empty podium, and the other candidates could direct questions to it. Moments later, Bolsonaro withdrew from the debate, citing "censorship imposed by the TSE". Shortly afterward, STF Justice Gilmar Mendes granted an injunction guaranteeing Renan Santos's participation in the debate. Following this series of court rulings, Globo decided to cancel the debate less than an hour before it was due to begin.

11 October: The debate was canceled due to scheduling conflicts on the part of both candidates.

15 October: The debate was canceled due to scheduling conflicts on the part of both candidates. Instead, Lula and Bolsonaro took part in Globo's candidate interviews on 15 and 16 October, respectively.

18 October: The first debate between the final two contenders was described as "chaotic" and characterized by personal attacks; for instance, Bolsonaro declined to stand closer to Lula out of fear that "his wallet would be stolen". At one point during the debate, Lula questioned Bolsonaro about why he had opposed the arrest of Bruno Dias Delaroli, who shot and killed 5-year-old Ana Clara Machado in 2021. Bolsonaro ignored the question and taunted Lula by asking him, without clarifying the source of the figures, why 73% of prisoners had supposedly voted for him. Lula replied, "I want 100% to vote for me. Even your father"; BBC considered this one of the most tense moments of the debate. In another notable incident, Bolsonaro wrote the word corrupto ("corrupt") on the palm of his hand to point out that it contained the letters "PT"; however, the quip backfired, with Lula supporters deliberately misinterpreting the gesture as a confession rather than an accusation.

23 October: During the debate on Globo, Bolsonaro mocked the fact Lula had lost a finger in a workplace accident at the age of 17. Lula demanded Bolsonaro apologise for the remark, stating that "I will not take home" that "great piece of nonsense", since his opponent "has never worked a day in his life". According to qualitative research conducted by Lula's campaign, the president's response was his best moment during the debate, generating negative repercussions for Bolsonaro and helping to highlight Lula's personal background. Writing for Folha de S.Paulo, Jairo Marques stated Bolsonaro's remark provoked indignation over prejudice against people with disabilities, and linked the episode to images of elderly people being assisted in reaching their polling stations, although he acknowledged he could not assert it had had a significant numerical effect. Comedian Antonio Tabet later revealed he had participated in Lula's re-election campaign, helping to write the president's response; this was confirmed by André Janones.

The results of the previous general elections and the current composition of the National Congress are given below. The party composition changed during the course of the legislature due to replacements of members, changes in their party affiliation, and mergers of parties. In 2026, all members of the Chamber of Deputies and two thirds of the Senate (two senators from each state and the Federal District) will be up for election.

Composition of the National Congress of Brazil

Party		Chamber of Deputies			Senate
		Elected	Incumbent	+/–	Elected		Incumbent	+/–	Up for election
		2022	2026		2018	2022	2026		2026	2030
	Liberal Party	99	98	1	1	8	16	7	6	10
	Workers' Party	69	64	5	4	4	9	1	6	3
	Brazil Union	59	52	7	8	5	3	10	1	2
	Progressistas	47	46	1	5	3	7	1	4	3
	Social Democratic Party	42	48	6	4	2	14	8	11	3
	Brazilian Democratic Movement	42	38	4	7	1	9	1	8	1
	Republicans	40	42	2	1	2	6	3	2	4
	Podemos	18	27	9	4	1	3	2	3	0
	Democratic Labour Party	17	10	7	2	0	2		2	0
	Brazilian Socialist Party	14	17	3	2	1	7	4	6	1
	Brazilian Social Democracy Party	13	18	5	4	0	4		4	0
	Socialism and Liberty Party	12	13	1	0	0	0		0	0
	Avante	7	5	2	0	0	1	1	1	0
	Solidarity	7	4	3	2	0	0	2	0	0
	Communist Party of Brazil	6	11	5	0	0	0		0	0
	Green Party	6	6		0	0	0		0	0
	Democratic Renewal Party	5	3	2	3	0	0	3	0	0
	Cidadania	5	2	3	2	0	0	2	0	0
	New Party	3	5	2	0	0	0		0	0
	Sustainability Network	2	3	1	5	0	0	5	0	0
	Mission Party	—N/a	1	1	—N/a	—N/a	0		0	0
Total		513	513		54	27	81		54	27

Outgoing senators
Federative Unit	Senator	Party
Acre	Marcio Bittar		Liberal Party
	Sérgio de Oliveira Cunha		Social Democratic Party
Alagoas	Eudócia Caldas		Brazilian Social Democracy Party
	Renan Calheiros		Brazilian Democratic Movement
Amapá	Lucas Barreto		Social Democratic Party
	Randolfe Rodrigues		Workers' Party
Amazonas	Eduardo Braga		Brazilian Democratic Movement
	Plínio Valério		Brazilian Social Democracy Party
Bahia	Angelo Coronel		Republicans
	Jaques Wagner		Workers' Party
Ceará	Cid Gomes		Brazilian Socialist Party
	Reginauro Nascimento		Brazilian Social Democracy Party
Espírito Santo	Fabiano Contarato		Workers' Party
	Marcos do Val		Avante
Federal District	Leany Lemos		Brazilian Socialist Party
	Izalci Lucas		Liberal Party
Goiás	Vanderlan Cardoso		Social Democratic Party
	Jorge Kajuru		Brazilian Socialist Party
Maranhão	Eliziane Gama		Social Democratic Party
	Weverton Rocha		Democratic Labour Party
Mato Grosso	Jayme Campos		Brazil Union
	Carlos Fávaro		Social Democratic Party
Mato Grosso do Sul	Soraya Thronicke		Brazilian Socialist Party
	Nelsinho Trad		Social Democratic Party
Minas Gerais	Rodrigo Pacheco		Brazilian Socialist Party
	Carlos Viana		Social Democratic Party
Pará	Jader Barbalho		Brazilian Democratic Movement
	Zequinha Marinho		Podemos
Paraíba	Veneziano Vital do Rêgo		Brazilian Democratic Movement
	Daniella Ribeiro		Progressistas
Paraná	Flávio Arns		Brazilian Socialist Party
	Oriovisto Guimarães		Brazilian Social Democracy Party
Pernambuco	Humberto Costa		Workers' Party
	Fernando Dueire		Social Democratic Party
Piauí	Marcelo Castro		Brazilian Democratic Movement
	Ciro Nogueira		Progressistas
Rio de Janeiro	Flávio Bolsonaro		Liberal Party
	Carlos Portinho		Liberal Party
Rio Grande do Norte	Zenaide Maia		Social Democratic Party
	Styvenson Valentim		Podemos
Rio Grande do Sul	Luis Carlos Heinze		Progressistas
	Paulo Paim		Workers' Party
Rondônia	Marcos Rogério Brito		Liberal Party
	Confúcio Moura		Brazilian Democratic Movement
Roraima	Roberta Acioly		Republicans
	Chico Rodrigues		Brazilian Socialist Party
Santa Catarina	Esperidião Amin		Progressistas
	Ivete da Silveira		Brazilian Democratic Movement
São Paulo	Mara Gabrilli		Social Democratic Party
	Alexandre Giordano		Podemos
Sergipe	Rogério Carvalho		Workers' Party
	Alessandro Vieira		Brazilian Democratic Movement
Tocantins	Irajá Abreu		Social Democratic Party
	Eduardo Gomes		Liberal Party

Candidate		Running mate	Party	First round		Second round
				Votes	%	Votes	%
	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva	Geraldo Alckmin (PSB)	Workers' Party	53,879,538	45.16	64,256,232	51.79
	Flávio Bolsonaro	Alfredo Gaspar	Liberal Party	56,104,503	47.03	59,826,041	48.21
	Augusto Cury	Júlio Delgado	Avante	3,448,569	2.89
	Renan Santos	Aroldo Medina	Mission Party	2,675,887	2.24
	Ronaldo Caiado	Gilberto Kassab	Social Democratic Party	2,605,148	2.18
	Romeu Zema	Eduardo Girão	New Party	326,488	0.27
	Samara Martins	Raquel Brício	Popular Unity	122,911	0.10
	Hertz Dias	Vanessa Portugal	United Socialist Workers' Party	43,103	0.04
	Clariana Barão	Fabiana Torquato	Christian Democracy	40,043	0.03
	Edmilson Costa	Cleusa Santos	Brazilian Communist Party	22,693	0.02
	Wilson Grassi	Suêd Haidar	Democrata	16,881	0.01
	Rui Costa Pimenta	Antônio Carlos	Workers' Cause Party	15,024	0.01
Total				119,300,788	100.00	124,082,273	100.00
Valid votes				119,300,788	95.23	124,082,273	96.76
Invalid votes				3,674,249	2.93	2,723,305	2.12
Blank votes				2,300,798	1.84	1,430,496	1.12
Total votes				125,275,835	100.00	128,236,074	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				158,745,502	78.92	158,745,502	80.78
Source: Superior Electoral Court

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Liberal Party			25,824,755	22.69	121	+22
	Brazil of Hope		Workers' Party	14,793,128	13.00	70	+1
			Green Party	1,368,491	1.20	7	+1
			Communist Party of Brazil	1,306,368	1.15	11	+5
	Progressive Union		Brazil Union	7,876,904	6.92	46	–13
			Progressistas	7,616,758	6.69	41	–6
	Social Democratic Party			9,391,321	8.25	43	+1
	Republicanos			7,911,780	6.95	41	+1
	Brazilian Democratic Movement			7,890,384	6.93	36	–6
	Podemos			5,887,427	5.17	27	+9
	PSOL REDE		Socialism and Liberty Party	5,312,161	4.67	14	+2
			Sustainability Network	264,181	0.23	1	–1
	Brazilian Socialist Party			5,007,692	4.40	15	+1
	PSDB Cidadania		Brazilian Social Democracy Party	2,742,544	2.41	11	–2
			Cidadania	291,324	0.26	0	–5
	New Party			2,914,364	2.56	10	+7
	Solidary Renewal		Democratic Renewal Party	1,203,659	1.06	5	0
			Solidarity	1,049,014	0.92	2	–2
	Democratic Labour Party			1,868,424	1.64	6	–11
	Avante			1,807,942	1.59	5	–2
	Mission Party			1,223,569	1.08	1	New
	Christian Democracy			114,402	0.10	0	0
	Popular Unity			45,431	0.04	0	0
	National Mobilization			34,272	0.03	0	0
	Democrat			27,195	0.02	0	0
	United Socialist Workers' Party			18,696	0.02	0	0
	Agir			7,155	0.01	0	0
	Workers' Cause Party			3,041	0.00	0	0
	Brazilian Communist Party			0	0.00	0	0
	Brazilian Labour Renewal Party			0	0.00	0	0
Total				113,802,382	100.00	513	0
Valid votes				113,802,382	91.40
Invalid votes				4,264,784	3.43
Blank votes				6,445,372	5.18
Total votes				124,512,538	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				158,745,502	78.44
Source: [citation needed]

Federative unit	Seats	PL	FE Brasil	UPB	PSD	REP	MDB	PODE	Others
Acre	8	1	1	4	—	1	1	0	0
Alagoas	9	0	0	4	2	—	2	—	1
Amapá	8	1	1	3	0	—	0	1	2
Amazonas	8	2	0	2	1	1	2	0	0
Bahia	39	4	10	8	6	3	1	0	7
Ceará	22	4	3	3	3	1	2	0	6
Espírito Santo	10	2	2	3	0	1	—	1	1
Federal District	8	3	2	0	0	1	1	0	1
Goiás	17	4	2	4	2	1	2	1	1
Maranhão	18	4	2	3	0	1	5	0	3
Mato Grosso	8	3	1	2	0	1	—	1	0
Mato Grosso do Sul	8	3	1	2	—	2	0	—	0
Minas Gerais	53	21	13	6	2	3	1	1	6
Pará	17	3	2	1	2	0	6	2	1
Paraíba	12	2	2	3	1	3	—	1	0
Paraná	30	5	6	6	4	2	1	2	4
Pernambuco	25	2	4	4	2	2	1	3	7
Piauí	10	0	4	1	2	1	2	0	0
Rio de Janeiro	46	15	8	6	4	1	1	0	11
Rio Grande do Norte	8	3	3	2	—	—	—	—	0
Rio Grande do Sul	31	8	6	5	2	2	3	2	3
Rondônia	8	3	0	2	1	0	0	2	0
Roraima	8	1	0	2	—	3	0	2	0
Santa Catarina	16	7	3	1	1	1	1	1	1
São Paulo	70	19	11	5	6	6	4	6	13
Sergipe	8	0	1	3	2	1	0	0	1
Tocantins	8	1	0	2	—	3	—	1	1
Total	513	121	88	87	43	41	36	27	70
Source: Superior Electoral Court

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats
						Elected	Total	+/–
	Liberal Party			58,307,861	28.11	19	29	+14
	Brazil of Hope		Workers' Party	27,306,998	13.16	6	9	0
			Green Party	5,644	0.00	0	0	0
			Communist Party of Brazil	0	0.00	0	0	0
	Brazilian Democratic Movement			11,881,617	5.73	7	8	–1
	Progressive Union		Progressistas	22,082,660	10.65	3	6	–2
			Brazil Union	7,968,162	3.84	3	5	+2
	Republicanos			8,911,223	4.30	2	6	0
	Social Democratic Party			10,522,601	5.07	2	5	–9
	Brazilian Socialist Party			14,804,125	7.14	3	4	–2
	New Party			11,067,357	5.34	3	3	+3
	PSDB Cidadania		Brazilian Social Democracy Party	2,789,626	1.34	2	2	–2
			Cidadania	205,849	0.10	0	0	0
	Podemos			3,951,521	1.91	2	2	–1
	PSOL REDE		Sustainability Network	10,777,999	5.20	1	1	+1
			Socialism and Liberty Party	8,028,938	3.87	0	0	0
	Democratic Labour Party			5,395,434	2.60	1	1	–1
	Solidary Renewal		Democratic Renewal Party	608,874	0.29	0	0	0
			Solidarity	134,992	0.07	0	0	0
	Mission Party			684,138	0.33	0	0	0
	National Mobilization			533,859	0.26	0	0	0
	Popular Unity			431,082	0.21	0	0	0
	Avante			406,723	0.20	0	0	–1
	United Socialist Workers' Party			216,829	0.10	0	0	0
	Christian Democracy			189,353	0.09	0	0	0
	Democrata			67,585	0.03	0	0	0
	Workers' Cause Party			50,478	0.02	0	0	0
	Brazilian Labour Renewal Party			39,609	0.02	0	0	0
	Brazilian Communist Party			33,330	0.02	0	0	0
	Agir			23,881	0.01	0	0	0
Total				207,428,348	100.00	54	81	0
Registered voters/turnout				154,404,390	–
Source: [citation needed]

Federative unit	Seats	PL	MDB	UPB	PT	PSB	Novo	Others
Acre	2	1	—	0	0	0	—	1
Alagoas	2	—	0	1	—	—	—	1
Amapá	2	—	0	0	0	0	—	2
Amazonas	2	0	1	0	—	—	—	1
Bahia	2	0	—	—	2	—	—	0
Ceará	2	0	—	0	—	1	0	1
Espírito Santo	2	0	0	—	0	1	0	1
Federal District	2	2	—	—	0	—	0	0
Goiás	2	1	0	1	—	—	—	0
Maranhão	2	0	0	1	0	—	1	0
Mato Grosso	2	1	0	1	—	0	—	0
Mato Grosso do Sul	2	2	—	—	0	0	0	0
Minas Gerais	2	1	0	0	1	0	0	0
Pará	2	0	1	1	—	—	—	0
Paraíba	2	0	1	—	—	1	0	0
Paraná	2	1	—	—	0	—	1	0
Pernambuco	2	0	—	0	1	—	0	1
Piauí	2	0	1	0	—	—	0	1
Rio de Janeiro	2	2	—	—	0	—	—	0
Rio Grande do Norte	2	0	—	0	1	—	—	1
Rio Grande do Sul	2	1	—	—	0	0	1	0
Rondônia	2	2	—	0	0	0	—	0
Roraima	2	1	1	0	—	0	0	0
Santa Catarina	2	2	0	0	0	—	—	0
São Paulo	2	1	—	1	—	0	—	0
Sergipe	2	0	1	0	1	—	—	0
Tocantins	2	1	1	0	0	—	0	0
Total	54	19	7	6	6	3	3	10
Source: Superior Electoral Court

At 9:08 p.m. (UTC−03:00) on election day, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) confirmed Lula da Silva's victory, when 97% of the ballot boxes had been counted. He became the first person to be elected president of Brazil four times and the first to win a presidential election in a runoff after placing second in the first round.

A victory by Lula had been seen as unlikely following the first round results, and commentators had fit a potential Bolsonaro victory into a wider trend across Latin America in which voters had "punished [left-wing] incumbents and turned to the right", as exemplified by recent elections in Argentina in 2023, Chile in 2025, and Colombia in 2026. In explaining Lula's victory, political observers noted the result in Minas Gerais, a state which has been a bellwether in every presidential election since 1989, where Lula trailed by 6 points in the first round but won by 1 point in the runoff. The turnout also increased from about 79% in the first round to about 81% in the runoff, which analysts said was favorable to Lula; both Lula and Bolsonaro focused their runoff campaigns on mobilizing their supporters to turn out, especially with digital advertisements. O Globo highlighted the role of politician André Janones who created the WhatsApp channel Exército do Lula (lit. "Lula's Army"), which amassed over 10 million followers and became Brazil's second biggest WhatsApp channel, most of whom joined between the first round and the runoff. According to the newspaper Metrópoles, Janones is the most significant political leader to have emerged from the last two presidential elections in Brazil, and Lula would not have secured his fourth term without his "decisive" role in the campaign. The day after Lula's victory, Janones was invited to help Pedro Sánchez in the Spanish elections.

Bolsonaro refused to concede the election, saying he felt that "it is impossible to recognize the election result given how these events unfolded", referring to a decision by STF justice Cristiano Zanin to postpone poll closing from 17:00 to 19:00. Both campaigns had requested for voting hours to be extended in specific areas; Lula's campaign pointed to shortages of public buses and other transportation problems in São Paulo as well as throughout the Northeast Region, while Bolsonaro's campaign pointed to heavy rains and flooding in the south. The orders to extend came in at around 5PM, when many polling stations in Brasilia had already closed. Bolsonaro cited the decision to extend voting hours as his reason to not accept the result of the election, saying his campaign would legally challenge the results.

In announcing the results, TSE president Nunes Marques, who had been appointed by Jair Bolsonaro, said that the extension of voting hours did not impact the result of the election. Analysis by Pedro Burgos, an Insper professor and specialist in data journalism, found that only 34,330 votes, or 0.03% of the total, were registered after the original closing time, while Lula's margin of victory was 4.43 million votes. The large majority of voting machines had been switched off by 17:00.

Analysts noted that an annulment of the election was unlikely, and that Flávio Bolsonaro's refusal to accept the result of the election echoed that of Jair Bolsonaro in the 2022 election. São Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas, a prominent Bolsonaro ally, called on Bolsonaro to "respect the election results and move on". Senator Rogério Marinho, who co-ordinated the Bolsonaro campaign, said there was "no evidence" of fraud.

The day after his defeat, Flávio Bolsonaro was summoned by the PF to surrender his passport, pursuant to an order issued by STF justice Alexandre de Moraes. Moraes based his decision on a statement by Flávio's brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro, who said that in the event of defeat Flávio should leave Brazil. He was also prohibited from having contact with Willer Tomaz [pt], who like him was under investigation for money laundering in a scheme that allegedly involved online gambling companies. Earlier that day, at least three federal deputies—Duda Salabert, Otoni de Paula and Rogério Correia [pt]—had requested the seizure of the senator's passports, noting he would lose his immunity at the end of the year and was the subject of three investigations on suspicion of, among other offenses, corruption and foreign exchange evasion. Moraes's decision to cancel Bolsonaro's passports was privately criticized by fellow STF justices and members of Lula's government; according to them, Moraes had made a political mistake and thrown "gasoline on a fire" and that it would have been better to let Bolsonaro flee, if that was indeed his plan, to make it clear he was evading Brazilian justice, without being able to claim he was a "victim of political persecution".

On 27 October, Infobae reported that Bolsonaro had allegedly fled Brazil the previous night, heading for Argentina, from where he would continue his journey to the United States. He had reportedly crossed the border using his national identity document and was to board a Gulfstream G400 registered as LV-JQW, operated by the company Baires Fly, in Puerto Iguazú. Bolsonaro had earlier stated he had "never thought about leaving the country". Flávio Bolsonaro's getaway private jet belonged to a company used by Argentine president Javier Milei. Following the news of the alleged flight, the PF contacted Argentine authorities, who did not provide precise information about Bolsonaro's entry into Argentina; furthermore, he had been prohibited from leaving Brazil. Brazilian newspapers Metrópoles, Folha de S.Paulo, channel CNN Brasil and British agency Reuters informed that close relatives and allies confirmed his defection from the country on his way to Miami, Florida.

Bolsonaro received assistance on his way to Argentina from a former Mossad agent, Israel's intelligence agency, who had become a naturalized U.S. citizen; in Argentina, he was helped by members of Milei's government, and his private jet was arranged by Jason Miller, a political strategist for Donald Trump. On 28 October, Bolsonaro landed at Miami–Opa Locka Executive Airport. He and his family are expected to receive visas from the State Department.

After arriving in the US, Bolsonaro published a statement on his X account declaring himself "president-elect" of Brazil. The statement featured an older Brazilian coat of arms (used between 1889–1930), which described the country as "Estados Unidos do Brazil" (Portuguese for United States of Brazil). He later deleted the post and republished it with his title changed to "leader" and the current coat of arms instead of the older one. Liberal Party President Valdemar Costa Neto rejected Bolsonaro's declaration. Bolsonaro's claims were mocked in conservative newspapers such as O Estado de S. Paulo and O Globo.

The removal of the expression "true president-elect" from the coup-like letter was ordered by the US government, as it could have caused diplomatic difficulties between the two countries. According to Paulo Figueiredo [pt], influencer and grandson of the last president of the Brazilian military dictatorship, João Figueiredo, the incorrect coat of arms and Bolsonaro's self-proclamation were caused by ChatGPT's artificial intelligence.

• Bolsonarism
• Lulism
• List of elections in 2026