Senator Flavio Bolsonaro has stated that he does not recognize the results of the second round of Brazil's presidential elections on 25 October 2026. He lost to incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by a margin of more than four million votes.
According to the electoral court, Lula received about 51,78% of the votes, while Bolsonaro received 48,22%. Officials, including the presidents of the STF and TSE, have already recognized the victory of the incumbent head of state.
Bolsonaro explained his position by the decision of STF Minister Cristiano Zanin, who in 17:01 extended voting by two hours nationwide. According to him, this "changed the rules of the game in the middle of the match" and violated the principle of equality of voters.
The candidate noted that Zanin, a former lawyer for Lula, made the decision bypassing the specialized electoral court, the TSE. "This has never happened in the history of Brazil," he stressed.
The president of the Supreme Electoral Court, Cássio Nunes Marques, confirmed: "There were absolutely no rules permitting an extension of voting. Never in the history of the TSE has such a thing happened."
Bolsonaro added that his team had also requested an extension of voting in five states due to weather problems, but the nationwide decision created unequal conditions. In some regions, the polls had already closed before the order.
The senator announced that he would file a lawsuit demanding the annulment of the elections. "It is impossible to recognize the result of the elections in the context in which everything happened," he told supporters in Brasília.
What now awaits Brazilian democracy after such a statement?
The court's ruling on Bolsonaro's lawsuit could determine how the country copes with yet another dispute over the outcome of the vote.
