A former Brazilian president, Luiz Lula da Silva defeated the incumbent president, Jair Bolsonaro in an election held where Mr Lula received 50.8 percent of total votes while Mr Bolsonaro received 49.2 percent. Mr Lula was first elected as Brazilian president in 2002, then re-elected in 2006 and was sentenced to jail in 2018 for corruption charges but later released in 2019 on technical grounds.
Mr Lula said “Today, the only winner is the Brazilian people. This isn’t a victory of mine or the Workers’ Party, nor the parties that supported me in the campaign. It’s the victory of a democratic movement that formed above political parties, personal interests and ideologies so that democracy came out victorious.
“Starting on January 1, 2023, I will govern for the 215 million Brazilians, not just the ones who voted for me. There are not 2 Brazils, we are one country, one people, one great nation”.
Mr Bolsonaro is yet to congratulate the president-elect but some world leaders have already sent their congratulatory messages to Mr Lula.
