Bolsonaro refuses to concede as would-be Ukraine peace mediator Lula wins Brazil election

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won reelection on Oct. 25, securing a fourth, nonconsecutive term in office, as his opponent, right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, refused to concede defeat and vowed to challenge the election results.

The election ended with Lula receiving 51.79% of votes compared with Bolsonaro's 48.21%, according to Brazil's electoral authorities.

Bolsonaro said he would seek to annul the election, calling a decision by Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin to extend voting by two hours "unacceptable."

The extension was introduced following transportation disruptions and severe weather that affected voting in parts of the country, according to the Associated Press.

The electoral court has recognized Lula's victory, and Bolsonaro's refusal to concede does not invalidate the result.

Lula had expressed the view in 2024 that Brazil should remain neutral and not interfere in Russia's war against Ukraine, but in the years that followed had been engaging in diplomacy, including efforts to position Brazil as a potential mediator between Kyiv and Moscow.

In June of this year, President Volodymyr Zelensky accepted Lula's offer to assist efforts to negotiate an end to the war, Ukrainian presidential communications adviser Dmytro Lytvyn said, according to Reuters.

The leaders held a bilateral meeting on during the G7 summit in France on June 17, discussing ways to revive stalled diplomatic negotiations, including potential outreach to permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

While Ukraine maintains close diplomatic ties with three of the five permanent members — France, the United Kingdom and the United States — Brazil has maintained diplomatic relations with Russia and China.

Lula spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by telephone in August, discussing the war in Ukraine and bilateral relations, CNN Brasil reported.

Brazil has maintained diplomatic and economic ties with Russia since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, opting out of Western sanctions and expressing a wish to have a role in a negotiated settlement to the war.

Lula has also rejected suggestions that Brazil supports Russia's invasion, saying in an April interview that his government has never recognized Moscow's right to occupy Ukrainian territory.

The Brazilian president's victory comes after a closely fought campaign against Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a prison sentence for his role in an attempted coup following his 2022 election defeat.

The elder Bolsonaro also refused to concede defeat after losing to Lula in 2022. He was subsequently convicted for his role in a plot to overturn that election.

The victory makes Lula, 80, the first Brazilian president to win four terms and the first candidate since the country's return to democracy to win a presidential runoff after finishing second in the opening round.

While Bolsonaro refuses to concede and asks for the vote to be annulled, election officials have expressed "absolute" confidence in the proceedings and the result, as reported by Reuters.