Brazil election 2026: Lula gains ground across nearly all municipalities in runoff victory

Key points

• Lula improved his voting margin in 96.7% of municipalities, according to Folha.
• The biggest gains highlighted in the graphic were in cities in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo states.
• Lula won the runoff with 51.79% of valid votes.

Lula strengthened his electoral performance in 5,318 Brazilian municipalities between the October 4 first round and the October 25 runoff, according to an analysis of election results presented by The World in Maps.

Only 122 municipalities moved towards his right-wing rival, Flávio Bolsonaro, the graphic showed.

The figures suggest Lula gained ground across approximately 98% of the municipalities included in the comparison, highlighting the scale of his recovery after finishing behind Bolsonaro in the first round.

The shift does not mean Lula won every municipality where his support increased. In many places, he simply narrowed Bolsonaro's lead or increased his own margin.

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An analysis by Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, also based on Superior Electoral Court (TSE) data, found that Lula improved his margin against Bolsonaro in 5,385 municipalities, or 96.7% of the country's total. Bolsonaro gained ground in 185. The figures differ from those shown in the graphic, possibly because of differences in how local results were compared.

Among the largest shifts highlighted in the graphic were Campos dos Goytacazes and Belford Roxo in Rio de Janeiro state, where Lula's position improved by 9.8 and 8.6 percentage points, respectively. São Vicente in São Paulo state recorded an 8.4-point shift.

Lula's gains helped him secure 51.79% of valid votes in the runoff, compared with Bolsonaro's 48.21%, according to the TSE. He received 64.26 million votes against Bolsonaro's 59.83 million, reversing a first-round deficit of about 2.2 million votes.

The result secured Lula a fourth non-consecutive presidential term, although Bolsonaro has challenged the outcome and called for the election to be annulled.

The municipal figures illustrate how widespread changes in voting margins contributed to Lula's victory, even in areas where Bolsonaro remained the leading candidate.