Brazil Liberal Party accepts Lula victory despite Bolsonaro challenge

Brazil's Liberal Party has formally recognised the outcome of the presidential run-off election, distancing itself from candidate Flavio Bolsonaro's pledge to overturn his defeat against incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Valdemar Costa Neto, head of the right-wing party, released a statement confirming that the political organisation accepted the certified tally, while adding that raised concerns should still be investigated and clarified.

Bolsonaro lost Sunday's run-off to Lula by more than 4.4 million ballots, with the incumbent securing over 64.25 million votes against Bolsonaro's 59.83 million. The conservative senator has not formally conceded and previously declared the results unacceptable, vowing to petition authorities to annul the vote over a late decision to keep polling stations open longer.

Both campaigns had initially petitioned for extended voting hours. Bolsonaro's team pointed to severe downpours in conservative strongholds across southern Brazil that prevented citizens from traveling. Meanwhile, Lula's camp cited reductions in municipal transit in urban areas, which they claimed suppressed turnout among low-income voters. In the city of Salvador, local transportation official Pablo Souza was detained over the transit disruptions.

Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin approved a two-hour extension nationwide, moving closing times from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Brasilia time. Bolsonaro seized on the order to allege unfair interference, highlighting that Zanin was appointed by Lula in 2023 and had previously represented him as a private attorney. However, data compiled by Insper professor Pedro Burgos indicated that the additional hours produced only roughly 35,000 votes across the country—representing under 0.03 percent of all ballots cast and far below Lula's victory margin.

Bolsonaro's contested claims drew support from US President Donald Trump, who told reporters the contest appeared unfair and described it as looking rigged, though Trump maintained he was not formally taking sides in the race.

The resistance to the outcome prompted parallels to Flavio Bolsonaro's father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, who disputed his 2022 defeat to Lula and is currently serving a 27-year prison term related to coup accusations.

Local reporting from Folha de S Paulo indicated that advisers have urged the younger Bolsonaro to drop his legal challenges given the decisive vote difference. Separately, federal police requested that the senator surrender his passports amid rumors he might exit the country, an instruction Bolsonaro said he would obey while stating he intends to remain in Brazil to lead the political opposition.