Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won reelection on Oct. 25, but defeated challenger Flávio Bolsonaro rejected the result and said he would seek to cancel it.
Bolsonaro’s party recognized the outcome the following day. Lula won 51.8% of the vote, beating Bolsonaro by more than 4.4 million votes, according to Brazil’s electoral authorities. Bolsonaro said he could not accept the result.
He accused the Supreme Court of changing the rules after Justice Cristiano Zanin ordered voting hours extended by two hours. The order allowed polling places that were still open to stay open later. Stations that had already closed were not reopened.
Both campaigns had asked for voting hours to be extended, but they cited different problems. Bolsonaro’s camp pointed to heavy rain, while Lula’s cited transport disruptions. On Monday, Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party said it recognized the official result.
The party wanted concerns raised about the vote to be addressed. As of Tuesday, Bolsonaro had not formally conceded. The possibility of a legal challenge and the political tensions around it remained unresolved.