Brazil elects Lula, votes out incumbent Bolsonaro

Brazilians have elected Luiz Lula da Silva in a tight election that manifested a rejection of the incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and his far-right politics.

AP is reporting that Da Silva received 50.9% of the vote and Bolsonaro 49.1%. Yet hours after the results were in — and congratulations poured in from world leaders — Bolsonaro had yet to publicly concede or react in any way.

Bolsonaro’s campaign had made repeated — unproven — claims of possible electoral manipulation before the vote, raising fears that, if he lost, he would not accept defeat and try to challenge the results.

For da Silva, the high-stakes election was a stunning comeback. His imprisonment for corruption sidelined him from the 2018 election won by Bolsonaro, who has used the presidency to promote conservative social values while also delivering incendiary speeches and testing democratic institutions.