A career's crescendo

Tom Phillips looked past the count itself and pointed to what the lula re-election says about the man who claimed it: the closing peak of a political life that has run for five decades, sometimes controversially, and that made Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva the first elected working-class leader of Brazil.

Lula defeated his far-right opponent, Flávio Bolsonaro, to claim a historic fourth term as Brazil's president.

Bolsonaro camp rejects the declared outcome

Flávio Bolsonaro refused to concede defeat and asked for the results to be annulled. The reason he gave for wanting the outcome cancelled was a supreme court justice's decision to extend voting hours.

The challenge, aimed at the voting arrangements rather than the count, leaves the declared brazil election result contested.

Phillips sees the challenge going nowhere

Phillips said Bolsonaro's response was as he had feared, but argued it would carry little weight, because world leaders were recognising Lula's win and he did not think Bolsonaro had a hope of overturning the result.

The standoff has a precedent close to home. Jair Bolsonaro, four years ago, also refused to acknowledge his defeat to Lula – before attempting a coup and being convicted for it.

The latest position: the lula fourth term is being recognised abroad, while the defeated rival presses a claim to void it at home.