Lula leads Bolsonaro in Brazil runoff as counting pauses after voting extension

Brazilian voters cast their ballots in a presidential runoff on Sunday, with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva holding a lead over right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro as of 8:30 p.m. Brasília time. At that point, roughly 50 percent of the votes had been tallied. The lead shift coincided with the arrival of results from the northeastern states, a region where Lula has strong support and where voting typically concludes later than in other parts of the country.

The count was interrupted for two hours after Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin issued a ruling to extend voting in certain areas. Zanin, who previously served as Lula’s lawyer, approved the request from Lula’s campaign, which cited public transportation issues in three cities within the state of Bahia. The decision arrived near the official 5 p.m. closing time, creating confusion at polling stations that had already shut their doors.

Under the subsequent order, stations that had closed before the ruling would remain shut so authorities could begin counting their ballots. Stations that stayed open after the initial cutoff were allowed to accept voters for an additional two hours. This pause in the official tally added a layer of complexity to an election already sensitive to procedural disputes.

Eduardo Bolsonaro, the brother of candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, criticized the legal maneuvering during a YouTube live stream. He questioned why the Supreme Court intervened in a matter typically handled by the electoral court. "Strange, isn't it?" he asked, adding that the move "doesn't inspire credibility." Two legal experts told Reuters that the extended hours and transportation complaints could lead to legal challenges if the losing side contests the outcome.

The dispute over voting access began earlier in the day when a court in Bahia ordered the arrest of a senior transportation official in Salvador. Authorities alleged the official directed a reduction in the city’s bus fleet on election day. Lula’s campaign claimed that officials in at least nine states cut service to limit voter access. Flávio Bolsonaro also sought extensions in three states, citing bad weather as a reason.

Prior to Zanin’s ruling, Lula described the situation as an "abominable" event unfolding in the election. His allies pointed to higher-than-expected turnout as a factor in his growing lead. Pollster Andrei Roman, CEO of AtlasIntel, told Reuters that Lula was poised for re-election. The federal electoral court had not yet declared a formal winner, though Lula’s supporters were already celebrating on social media.