Liberal Party recognises Lula's Brazil win as Flávio Bolsonaro drops annulment bid

The runoff and first reactions

Brazil held the second round of its presidential election on Sunday, 25 October 2026, and incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated Flávio Bolsonaro. Europa Press put Lula's share of the vote at 51.79%, while Aktuálně.cz said he won almost 52% of valid votes. Results came in overnight into 26 October, and Bolsonaro did not accept them straight away. He pointed to irregularities during voting, including a two-hour extension of polling time, and asked for the election to be annulled. Europa Press reported that he described the outcome as inexplicable. Brazilian media cited by Aktuálně.cz said the extension had no significant effect on the final result, given the low number of votes cast.

The Liberal Party recognises the result

The Liberal Party (PL) acknowledged Lula's victory on 26 October. Party president Valdemar Costa Neto told a press conference that the PL recognises the presidential result but believes the questions raised must be properly clarified. He said the party would keep following developments and seek answers with responsibility, transparency and respect for the institutions. Costa Neto added that the PL would stay firm and act independently in defence of democracy, freedom and the values it represents. The party's position marked a clear break from the stance its candidate had taken after the results were published.

Bolsonaro shifts to a legal case

Flávio Bolsonaro is abandoning his plan to seek annulment of the vote and will instead file a case accusing the reelected Lula of abuse of power, a change from the legal challenge he had announced on Sunday, 25 October. He said he would organise the opposition to resist what he called chaos. He wants to gather the Liberal Party's elected deputies and senators and build a strategy to turn the lower house and the Senate into party strongholds. Brazilian media reported that the Liberal Party will hold the largest group in both chambers after the election. Lula begins his fourth term in January, but centrist and right-wing parties hold most seats, so he will have great difficulty pushing his proposals through parliament.

Police measures and two investigations

Bolsonaro said on 26 October that police had seized his passports and handed him a court order barring him from leaving Brazil. Brazilian media reported that authorities feared he could flee abroad. The measure appears to relate to two cases in which he is under investigation. Bolsonaro described the decision as an attempt to intimidate him. No source sets out how long the travel ban and the passport seizure will last.

What comes next

The dispute has moved from the ballot count to the courts and parliament. The case Flávio Bolsonaro plans to file against Lula has not yet been filed. The Liberal Party's expected size in both chambers sets the parliamentary backdrop for the fourth term Lula begins in January. The party accepted the result even as its candidate pursued a different legal route, so the form and timing of his case remain the open questions.