Portugal

Lisbon, October 26, 2026. The Portuguese press is treating Lula da Silva's re-election as both a historic record and a test for Brazilian institutions. According to SAPO, Lula, 80 years old, won on Sunday, October 25, with 51.75% of the vote: 63,388,523 votes against 59,099,143 for Flávio Bolsonaro, with 98.76% of the polling stations counted. He became the first candidate to win a second round after losing the first, where his rival was ahead by 2,224,965 votes. Observador highlights that at 80 years old, the president showed he still knew how to mobilize the streets, seduce the center, and conserve his base, while the main candidates from the first round had called to vote for Flávio Bolsonaro.

The story of the evening is being followed hour by hour. Observador reports that the Superior Electoral Tribunal suspended the publication of the figures after 0.25% of the votes, the time of a two-hour extension, and then the lead changed hands twice before Lula took the lead, around 11:30 PM in Lisbon. SAPO specifies that Supreme Court Judge Cristiano Zanin ordered the extension after complaints from Lula's campaign about public transportation in cities in nine states, while no definitive decision from the electoral authority existed.

This is the point that is fueling the controversy. According to RTP, Flávio Bolsonaro considers the decision "unacceptable", speaks of a minister, "Lula's former lawyer", who "changes the rules of the game in the middle of the game", and announces: "we will ask for the annulment of these elections". Observador quotes his phrase: "it is impossible to recognize the results". Jornal Económico notes that analysts were expecting a judicial initiative and recalls that the president of the TSE, Kassio Nunes Marques, is associated with bolsonarism.

Lula, for his part, speaks of a "defeat of negationism" and "lies", according to RTP. After voting on Sunday, he stated that the people would not accept "a militiaman" in the Planalto, reports Jornal Économico.

The Portuguese perspective is also one of proximity. Observador mentions the public security police (PSP) monitoring the supporters of both camps in Lisbon, where approximately 79,000 Brazilian voters were registered, according to SAPO. The Secretary-General of the Socialist Party, José Luís Carneiro, hailed a victory for democracy and the importance of relations between Portugal and Brazil. RTP finally relays the congratulations of left-wing leaders from the Americas, including Claudia Sheinbaum.