Bangladesh

Dhaka, October 26, 2026. The Bangladeshi press is covering the second round of the Brazilian election on Sunday, October 25, as a test of the conservative wave sweeping across Latin America under Washington's watch. The Daily Star headlines the victory of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro's demand for annulment. According to official results, Lula won with 51.8% of the vote against 48.2%, or about 4.4 million votes ahead. The newspaper speaks of a "spectacular comeback" by the left-wing leader, who will be 81 years old on Tuesday and is obtaining an unprecedented fourth term, despite unfavorable projections.

The newspaper places this result in a regional context: with this victory, Brazil "has pushed back a conservative wave" that has shifted Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Peru to the right, with the support of US President Donald Trump. It recalls that no candidate defeated in the first round had won the second since 1989, the first direct election after the military dictatorship.

TBS News, published on the day of the vote, posed the issue in geopolitical terms: a victory for Flávio Bolsonaro, 45, would have extended the series of successes of candidates close to Trump, while a fourth term for Lula would be "a disappointment in Washington", which has opposed his government on trade and security. The site reports that Reuters revealed on Saturday a campaign within the State Department to help the Bolsonaros return to power, which Washington denies. When asked, Trump replied: "I don't want to get into that, but we're watching."

On the conduct of the election, The Daily Star reports the confusion: a Supreme Court decision extended voting by two hours, while some polling stations had already closed, at Lula's request, who denounced the withdrawal of buses from circulation in several cities. Flávio Bolsonaro had also requested an extension in certain regions due to heavy rains, but judged the decision "unacceptable" and a "dirty trick". From Brasília, with a stern face, he stated: "It is impossible to recognize the results. I will request the annulment of these elections."

The son of Jair Bolsonaro, sentenced to 27 years in prison for attempting a coup after his 2022 defeat, had promised to release his father if he was elected, TBS notes. The campaign, the site writes, was dominated by corruption scandals, economic anxiety, and accusations of American interference.