Brazil’s left-wing President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has won a fourth term in office, defeating his right-wing challenger, Flávio Bolsonaro, in a surprise run-off victory.
The 80-year-old secured just under 52% of the vote, overturning Bolsonaro’s first-round lead.
In São Paulo, President Lula thanked cheering supporters, saying they had defended Brazilian democracy.
The election was bitterly fought and bucks a wider regional trend towards right-wing leaders across Latin America.
Flávio Bolsonaro has described the result as inexplicable and called for it to be annulled.
But electoral law experts say the chances of annulment are remote, noting Lula won by over 4.4 million votes, and that Brazil’s election dates are fixed by the constitution.
Flávio Bolsonaro is the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently serving a jail sentence under house arrest for plotting a coup after losing the last election.
During his victory speech, Lula singled out Congressman André Janones for his exponential role in the campaign.
Janones, 42, from Minas Gerais, is the founder of the viral WhatsApp channel “Lula’s Army”, which became one of the campaign’s main digital mobilisation tools.
In regular videos and messages, Janones urged participants who he called soldiers to share posts and invite new members.
Shortly before the run-off, the channel surpassed ten million followers.
Lula said the election taught him many lessons, among them the power of social media.
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(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
