Brazil’s leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva pulled off a dramatic comeback on Sunday as he clinched a re-election victory, but his rival Flavio Bolsonaro refused to accept the loss and said he would seek to annul the vote.

With Lula’s victory, Brazil staved off a conservative wave that has seen numerous countries — such as Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Peru — all shift right, backed by US President Donald Trump.

The leftist icon, who turns 81 on Tuesday, defied projections to win an unprecedented fourth term.

According to official results, he won 51.8 per cent of the votes to 48.2 per cent for Flavio Bolsonaro, with Lula pulling around 4.4 million more votes.

The senator is the son of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year jail term for attempting a coup after his loss to Lula in the country’s last election in 2022.

Sunday’s vote was marked by confusion after a Supreme Court ruling extended voting by two hours as some polling stations had already closed.

The move came at the request of Lula, who complained that buses had been pulled from circulation in various cities, barring citizens from voting.

Flavio Bolsonaro also requested an extension in some regions due to heavy rains, but he described the decision as “unacceptable” and a “dirty trick.”

“It is impossible to recognise the results. I am going to request the annulment of these elections,” he said, in a brief speech in Brasília.

No candidate who lost the first round has gone on to win the second in Brazil since 1989, the first direct election after the end of the country’s military dictatorship.

“People went to vote because we managed to convince them that voting was very important for ensuring democracy in the country,” Lula said in his first comments after the win.

Fireworks and vuvuzelas rang out in Rio de Janeiro, while thousands of people dressed in red, the colour of Lula’s Workers’ Party, streamed into the streets of Sao Paulo to celebrate.

– Lula’s fight back –

After the first-round defeat, the left swung into action with massive rallies, declaring “Never Again Bolsonaro” and revamped their social media strategy.

The abstention rate decreased from the first round, falling from 21 per cent to 19 per cent.

Julio Canelo, 42, a lawyer celebrating in Rio de Janeiro, hailed a victory for “the entire democratic spectrum.”

“It was the result of the people mobilising, in the streets and online,” he told AFP.

A fierce social media battle drew in Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, which Lula’s campaign accused of favouring his opponent with “algorithmic manipulation.”

Meta denied this but acknowledged that some of Lula’s campaign ads had been mistakenly deactivated due to technical errors.

“We are going to have to regulate them,” Lula said of social media companies after his win.

A bitter campaign marred by scandals and mudslinging laid bare the deep divisions that have plagued Brazil over the past decade.

– A country split in two –

Lula heads into a fourth term with almost half of the nation having rejected him, desperate for change.

He rose from poverty to become president in 2003 and was re-elected in 2006.

Lula made a dramatic return to office in the 2022 elections after a corruption scandal saw him jailed for over 18 months.

The charges were annulled on procedural grounds.

In his third term, Lula oversaw a drop in inflation and unemployment, and lifted millions out of hunger, but many voters felt gloomy about the high cost of living and crime.

Bolsonaro, 45, pitched himself as more moderate and jovial than his father and managed to galvanise conservatives as well as less ideological voters wanting something new.

“We’re in a deep hole, things are dire. People can barely afford to eat — buying meat is out of the question,” said Tereza Cristina Ramos, a 68-year-old retiree, who voted in Rio de Janeiro.

Already one of the world’s oldest leaders, Lula will be 85 by the end of his new term in 2030.

He is also facing a hostile Congress dominated by the right.

Lula’s campaign leaned heavily on the theme of sovereignty in the face of commercial and diplomatic pressure from Trump’s United States.

“This country will not accept being anyone’s backyard,” he said Sunday.

Lula received congratulations from Chile’s far-right president, Jose Antonio Kast, and Ecuador’s right-wing Daniel Noboa — both close Trump allies.

Mexico’s left-wing President Claudia Sheinbaum wrote on X, saying “Long live democracy, the people of Brazil won.”

AFP

Source: punchng.com

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The Obi-Kwankwaso Movement has faulted the Nigeria Democratic Congress over the unveiling of its National Campaign Council, questioning the party’s preparedness for the 2027 general elections and boasting that it has a stronger grassroots structure.

The Director-General of the OK Movement, John Ughulu, said the NDC had waited too long to organise its campaign machinery, warning that political ambition without effective grassroots mobilisation and coordination would not guarantee electoral victory.

He stated this on Monday in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja, a day after the NDC announced the composition of its campaign council ahead of its inauguration in the Federal Capital Territory.

The politician argued that the movement had done the necessary groundwork while others were only beginning to organise, predicting that some of those appointed to the council might eventually seek its support and mobilisation network.

He said, “The funny part of this list is that 90 per cent of the people on it will still come knocking on the doors of the OK Movement to beg for the very structure they have failed to build themselves!”

Ughulu added, “With less than three months to the general elections, they are only just announcing their Presidential Campaign Council. What exactly have they been doing all this time? Where is the structure? Where is the strategy? Where is the machinery required to prosecute a serious national election?”

The criticism comes amid an escalating disagreement between the NDC and the OK Movement over the latter’s organisational independence and its place in the campaign for the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso.

The NDC on Sunday named its National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, as chairman of its National Campaign Council, with Obi appointed co-chairman.

The party’s National Chairman, Senator Cleopas Moses Zuwoghe, was named vice-chairman, while Kwankwaso will serve as co-vice-chairman.

Other appointees include former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, as chairman of the National Advisory Council; former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege; former presidential candidate, Pat Utomi; and former National Secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change, Buba Galadima.

The NDC National Secretary, Ikenna Enekweizu, was appointed council secretary, while Ibrahim Abdulkarim will serve as Director-General.

However, Ughulu and the OK Movement’s state, local government and ward coordinators were not included in the appointments.

The omission comes against the backdrop of a dispute over the movement’s decision to establish its own presidential campaign council, which Dickson described as “unheard of” and “nonsensical”.

The former Bayelsa State governor had argued that support groups should complement political parties rather than compete with them or operate parallel structures.

Speaking at the unveiling of Lawal in Abuja last month, Dickson maintained that the NDC would work with support groups but expected them to function within their proper roles.

In his latest statement, the OK Movement director-general argued that elections were won through sustained grassroots mobilisation, strategic planning and effective coordination rather than prominent names on campaign councils.

“Elections are not won by titles, press releases, political noise, or the number of big names on a campaign council. Elections are won through grassroots mobilisation, effective coordination, strategic planning, committed people, and a well-established structure that reaches every polling unit,” he said.

The politician maintained that the movement had recognised the importance of grassroots organisation long before the electioneering season and was better prepared to mobilise voters.

“We did not wait for the election to approach before recognising the importance of grassroots organisation. We understood from the beginning that a presidential ambition without a functional grassroots structure is nothing more than a political wish!” Ughulu added.

He also warned that political leaders who had criticised the movement could eventually need its network and organisational capacity as the elections approached.

“But the question is: Will they respect the structure they are now coming to depend on?” he asked.

The NDC is scheduled to inaugurate its National Campaign Council and commission its newly acquired national secretariat in Abuja on Monday.

The party will also present Certificates of Return to its candidates for the presidential, governorship, National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly elections as part of activities marking its third National Executive Committee meeting.

The programme is expected to be followed by a dinner.

Ughulu maintained that the OK Movement would not be reduced to a ceremonial support group, insisting that its strength lay in its organisational capacity and commitment to the Obi-Kwankwaso political project.

“Leadership is not about who makes the loudest noise. Leadership is about who prepares, organises, builds, and delivers when it matters most,” he said.

He concluded, “The OK Movement is ready. The question is: are they? Nigeria will be OK.”