# Flávio Bolsonaro and Lula advance to Brazil's presidential runoff

Date: 2026

On 4 October 2026, Brazil's first presidential round ended without any candidate winning an outright majority. Official election reporting put Senator [Flávio Bolsonaro](/people/flavio-bolsonaro) at 47.03% and President [Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva](/people/env-person-lula) at 45.16%, sending the two candidates to a runoff scheduled for 25 October. Bolsonaro therefore led the first round but did not win the presidency on 4 October.

The result transformed Bolsonaro from a senator and political heir to [Jair Bolsonaro](/people/jair-bolsonaro) into a realistic contender for executive power and made the Bolsonaro movement's legal and democratic record central to the second-round campaign. He was a runoff finalist, not president-elect; the final officeholder remained undecided.

## Sources

- https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazilians-head-polls-high-stakes-polarized-election-2026-10-04/
- https://www.tse.jus.br/comunicacao/noticias/2026/Outubro/flavio-bolsonaro-e-lula-vao-disputar-o-2o-turno-para-a-presidencia-da-republica
- https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ck1l34ed592no

## Methodology

https://factrail.ai/methodology

Canonical: https://factrail.ai/facts/br-first-round-flavio-bolsonaro-lula-runoff-2026-10-04