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Brazil election 2026 first round results: live count under way
Brazil election 2026 first round results are being reported live in the presidential contest between the incumbent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the far-right candidate Flávio Bolsonaro. Polls close at 17.00 BRT (21.00 BST), and a candidate needs more than 50% of valid votes to win the first round outright.
By Haut Monde Post
• October 4, 2026
• 3 Min Read
When the polls close and how votes count
Live results are being reported for the first round of Brazil's 2026 presidential election. Polls close at 17.00 BRT (21.00 BST). Brazil elects its president directly: each voter's ballot counts equally, and there is no electoral college.
The 50% rule and what happens without it
A candidate needs more than 50% of valid votes to avoid a second round. If no one clears that bar, a runoff between the two candidates who polled highest follows three weeks later.
- •The runoff is set for 25 October, and polling for it shows no clear leader between the frontrunners
- •The winner takes power on 5 January 2027
The two frontrunners
Opinion polls point to two leading candidates and suggest no other contender will come close. The incumbent president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, faces the far-right candidate Flávio Bolsonaro.
Lula:
- •Aged 80, a veteran of the Brazilian left who has served three terms
- •Credited between 2003 and 2011 with a historic period of commodity-fuelled growth and poverty reduction
- •Barred by the two-consecutive-term limit from standing in 2030 if he wins now
- •Jailed in 2018 on corruption charges before his conviction was quashed after 580 days behind bars
Flávio Bolsonaro:
- •A 45-year-old lawyer and a former senator from Rio de Janeiro
- •Son of Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year sentence for masterminding a failed coup after losing the 2022 election
- •Endorsed by his father, who hopes to regain his freedom if Flávio wins
Minas Gerais: the bellwether state to watch
The first result worth reading is Minas Gerais, a mountainous mining and agricultural region larger than France, with 21 million inhabitants. Since democracy returned in the 1980s, no candidate has won the presidency without triumphing there.
- •In 2018, Jair Bolsonaro beat Lula's candidate in Minas Gerais by more than 1.7m votes and was elected president
- •In 2022, Lula reclaimed the state by fewer than 50,000 votes and also won the nationwide race
- •History suggests whoever wins Minas Gerais will win the election
If the first round produces no outright winner, the two frontrunners meet again in the 25 October runoff, where polling shows no clear leader; the winner takes power on 5 January 2027.
