Brazil's vote extends by two hours as Bolsonaro questions result

Brazil's presidential election ended with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva securing a fourth term, but a Supreme Court ruling issued minutes before polls closed has left the outcome open to challenge. The dispute over the extension is running alongside partisan reactions in the United States, where both progressive and conservative figures are weighing in on the result.

Lula requested a two-hour extension of voting hours, citing delays in public transportation. Supreme Court Justice Christiano Zanin granted the request nationwide less than half an hour before polls were scheduled to close. Bolsonaro's campaign had also sought an extension, pointing to heavy rain. Election specialists told Brazilian outlet GZH that the weather and the added polling time could support a legal challenge to the results.

Guilherme Gonçalves, an attorney and member of the Brazilian Academy of Electoral and Political Law, told GZH that heavy rain in Santa Catarina and Paraná caused damage, and that limited buses and restricted public transport in Salvador and São Paulo affected people's ability to vote. He said there is a possibility of requesting annulment of the election. Guilherme Barcelos, an attorney with a doctorate in constitutional law and specialization in electoral law, told GZH that a challenge would be difficult to win but that the Supreme Court "contributed to the instability of the electoral process, which is serious." He added, "The election does not end today. That is the point."

Flávio Bolsonaro, Lula's opponent, called the extension unacceptable. "A Supreme Court justice, for the first time in history, a former lawyer of Lula's, issues an order at the request of a former partner of his and changes the rules of the game in the middle of the game," Bolsonaro said in a statement. On the U.S. side, Martin De Luca, an attorney representing some of President Donald Trump's media groups, wrote that a candidate who needs to turn an election around can call on a former lawyer turned judge for help. Donald Trump Jr. replied to that post, saying mainstream U.S. press would react differently if a conservative government in Brazil had done the same. Joey Mannarino, co-founder of the Overton Institute, wrote that Brazil did not have an election and that the country was "stolen from them by a criminal band of corrupt hacks who belong in jail."

Progressive figures in the United States celebrated Lula's win. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., posted on X that Brazil showed "the will of the people is stronger than the authoritarians who try to suppress it," and congratulated Lula. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., wrote that Lula "has stood up for Brazilian workers and democracy" and will continue to do so in the next four years. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said that people worldwide are fighting against extremism and that with Lula in Brazil, "they just won." The Democratic Socialists of America issued a press release congratulating Lula, Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin and the coalition of progressive and leftist parties on their victory and re-election in the second round of Brazil's presidential elections.

Bolsonaro campaigned on expanding prison capacity to increase public safety and cutting government ministries by 25%. Lula campaigned on anti-poverty programs, minimum-wage increases and expanded assistance for low-income families.