Leftist incumbent Lula is seeking a fourth term in office, facing off against right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro.
Brazil’s next president will govern a country containing about 60 percent of the Amazon rainforest, an ecosystem with enormous importance for the global climate.
Climate and conservation experts say a Bolsonaro win could reverse the deforestation-control policies Lula brought back since he returned to office in 2023. Since then, deforestation has fallen to its lowest level in more than a decade.
During the presidency of Bolsonaro’s father, Jair Bolsonaro, Amazon deforestation had surged by about 60 percent, according to official data.
Lula and Bolsonaro have offered sharply different visions for the rainforest, with Lula proposing reaching net-zero deforestation by 2030, meaning any forest lost legally or illegally would have to be offset through restoration, while Bolsonaro has pledged to end illegal deforestation by 2029.
As Brazilians await the results of today’s vote, some are watching the actions of the Trump administration with concern and anticipation as the US embraces increasingly assertive efforts to shape regional elections in favour of candidates aligned with Trump.
The US president has previously sought to shape domestic affairs in Brazil through a combination of diplomatic and economic pressure, revoking visas for judicial officials involved in the case against former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro and placing heavy tariffs on Brazilian goods in an effort to have the case thrown out.
Like Trump himself, the elder Bolsonaro has pushed false claims of rampant voter fraud that have served as a pretext for ignoring unfavourable election results. Trump has likewise mirrored claims on the Brazilian right depicting Bolsonaro’s conviction for involvement in a coup plot following his loss to Lula in 2022 as a “witch-hunt”.
Lula’s government banned two US officials from entering the country earlier this year, stating that they planned to cast doubt on the integrity of the voting process.
A group of 31 Democratic US Congress members recently sent a letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticising “an apparent effort to interfere with, and potentially undermine” Brazilian elections.
With more than 47 percent of the vote counted, Flavio Bolsonaro holds 50.20 percent of the vote to Lula’s 41.63 percent.
That lead could reflect an early emphasis on southern states where Bolsonaro has typically enjoyed higher support, but it represents a solid result for the right-wing candidate thus far.
Early results also indicate that Bolsonaro’s right-wing Liberal Party is on track for a strong showing in the country’s Senate.
The presidential race may be getting the most attention, but other key contests may determine how much the next president can actually get done.
All 513 seats in the Chamber of Deputies are up for grabs, along with 54 of the Senate’s 81 seats. Voters are also choosing governors in all 26 states and the federal district.
Both houses of Congress are currently dominated by conservatives, which has proved to be a challenge for Lula’s agenda in his third term.
The results could also be consequential for Flavio Bolsonaro’s father, former President Jair Bolsonaro. The younger Bolsonaro has said that if elected, he would seek a congressional amnesty for his father, who was convicted of an attempted coup after losing the 2022 election. That would need approval from both houses, and the Senate approves the president’s nominees to the Supreme Court.
Several other members of the Bolsonaro family are also on the ballot. The former president’s wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, and his son, Carlos Bolsonaro, are both running for the Senate, while his youngest son, Jair Renan Bolsonaro, is seeking a seat in the lower house.
Reporting from Sao Paulo
President Lula is only scoring about 40.7 percent of the vote as opposed to more than 51 percent by his adversary, Flavio Bolsonaro. And unless that shifts significantly in the coming hours, it’s possible that what nobody thought would happen will happen, and that is that Flavio Bolsonaro could win in the first round.
Now, we have to keep in mind that the votes so far that have been counted are the ones from the south of Brazil. That is where the Bolsonaros have the most support. As the votes continue to be counted, reach other parts of the country and go northward, then we’ll be seeing much more support for the Lula campaign.
So, it’s true that we can’t say yet who is going to win, but we wouldn’t have expected Flavio Bolsonaro to do so well as he has so quickly.
The president of the Superior Electoral Court said voting was proceeding smoothly, except for heavy rain and power outages that caused some disruptions in the southern state of Parana.
“We are almost three hours away from the end of the voting and everything is proceeding normally and with the greatest possible transparency,” Kassio Nunes Marques said during a media conference earlier in the day.
About 159 million people are registered to vote in Brazil.
At 80, Lula is one of Brazil’s most enduring political figures, and if he wins, he will surpass his own record as the country’s oldest elected president.
The working-class base that carried the former union leader to power has changed significantly, with fewer Brazilians belonging to unions and millions now working in the informal and gig economies.
Lula also faces frustration over the cost of living. Brazil has recorded solid economic growth and historically low unemployment during his third term, but the numbers haven’t translated into optimism. High interest rates and household debt have left many voters feeling squeezed.
Public security is another area where Lula struggles, with polling showing violence as voters’ top concern.
Lula faces a tight race against 45-year-old Bolsonaro, which could determine what the final chapter of his long political career could look like.
Read more here.
Polling stations in Brazil began closing at 5:00pm Brasilia time (20:00 GMT), although those who remain in line are still eligible to cast their votes.
Vote counting begins as soon as polls close and results are expected within hours.
Voting is mandatory in Brazil for literate people over 18 years old, and failing to cast a ballot in Brazil’s elections incurs a small fine. Those who are illiterate, above the age of 70, and between 16 and 18 years of age may choose whether to exercise their right to vote. For Brazilians abroad, voting is required only in the presidential race.
Reporting from Sao Paolo, Brazil
“We need a change, Brazil has had too many years of Lula,” said 39-year-old systems analyst Robson, after voting for Flavio Bolsonaro at a polling station on Sao Paulo’s Avenida Paulista.
He told Al Jazeera that the country is heading in “the totally wrong direction,” and that Flavio would be Brazil’s antidote.
Of the country’s most pressing problems, Robson singled out the national debt as his biggest concern. “Since the current government is doing nothing to control it, I voted for a candidate who will.”
It is one of the largest fraud scandals in modern Brazilian history and experts say it may play a role in the nail-biter race unfolding for Brazil’s presidency as the electorate grapples with alienation from politics.
Both major candidates have faced fallout from the Banco Master scandal, a sprawling financial scheme that has overshadowed Brazilian politics.
Read the full story here.
Twelve candidates are contesting Brazil’s presidency, but the race has been dominated by Lula and Bolsonaro.
Lula, 80, is seeking an unprecedented fourth term in office. A former union leader from Brazil’s impoverished northeast, he is running in his seventh presidential election and has already served three terms as president.
Bolsonaro, 45, is the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro. He entered the race with his father’s backing after the former president was barred from holding public office and later sentenced to 27 years in prison for attempting to overturn his 2022 election defeat.
Opinion polls suggest neither Lula nor Bolsonaro is likely to secure more than 50 percent of valid votes on Sunday, the threshold needed to win outright. If no candidate clears that mark, the two leading candidates will advance to a run-off on October 25.
Thank you for joining our live coverage of Brazil’s 2026 general election as polls close across the country.
Stay with us as we bring you the latest results and analysis from key races, including the closely contested presidential race between President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro.
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