◆2 sources
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen responded to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s election victory, saying that democracy and multilateralism had won in Brazil.
12 sources
Incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won Brazil’s presidential runoff against Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro. The electoral authorities reported a final result of 51.76% for Lula and 48.24% for Bolsonaro, giving Lula a fourth term in office. Bolsonaro had led after the first round, while early reports during the runoff initially pointed to a Lula victory.
10 sources
A judge at Brazil’s electoral court ordered Meta to avoid restricting the distribution of political content in a way that creates unequal treatment of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his rival Flávio Bolsonaro. The ruling followed Lula’s complaint that his campaign accounts and posts on Meta platforms were repeatedly difficult to find or disappeared, while Bolsonaro’s account was more readily recommended. Meta attributed the problems to a technical malfunction; a Brazilian newspaper separately reported that Meta staff had acknowledged internally that restrictive measures had adversely affected Lula’s Instagram accounts. Meta could face a daily fine of 500,000 reais if it fails to comply. The order came ahead of the presidential runoff between Lula and Bolsonaro, who had traded personal accusations in their first televised debate. Bolsonaro later asked the electoral court to annul Lula’s candidacy over alleged illegal campaign propaganda sent through a government WhatsApp account; no outcome of that request was reported.
5 sources
Brazil’s Supreme Court extended voting in the final round of the presidential election by two hours, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. local time. The decision followed reported transport problems affecting voters’ ability to reach polling stations, including bus disruptions in nine states and flooding in southern Brazil. Reports differ on whether the court acted on a request from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s campaign alone or on requests from both presidential candidates. The electoral court temporarily suspended the processing and publication of preliminary results because of the extension.