![\"Flavio](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/00253b46-614.jpg\"\/)
\nFlavio Bolsonaro (L) and Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula Da Silva pictured before a debate during the election campaign<\/p>\n
Brazil’s Supreme Court extended voting in the country’s presidential election by two hours, leading the electoral authority to pause a vote count that had already started publishing early-stage results.<\/p>\n
The election pits leftist President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva against right-wing Senator Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro, the son of convicted former president Jair Bolsonaro.<\/p>\n
Polls were initially set to close at 5pm (8pm Irish time) and will now close at 7pm, after Supreme Justice Cristiano Zanin accepted a request by Mr Lula’s campaign to extend voting, pointing to public transportation issues in three cities in the state of Bahia.<\/p>\n
Mr Justice Zanin’s decision landed right around the 5pm cutoff, when the electoral court had already started publishing results that showed Mr Lula leading Mr Bolsonaro with 0.25% of ballot counted.<\/p>\n
Mr Lula had 57.66% of votes, compared with 42.34% for Mr Bolsonaro, the early count showed.<\/p>\n
After the ruling, the TSE said it would pause the vote count to allow for the extended voting window to close.<\/p>\n
Pause adds uncertainty<\/p>\n
The pause over the vote count injects uncertainty into a Brazilian electoral process still grappling with the fallout from 2022, when Jair Bolsonaro refused to concede defeat to Mr Lula.<\/p>\n
His supporters later invaded government buildings in protests against the result, and Jair Bolsonaro received a 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup.<\/p>\n
US President Donald Trump has called the case a “witch hunt” and imposed a 50% tariff on Brazil last year, in a decision explicitly linked to Jair Bolsonaro’s trial.<\/p>\n
While many of those were later watered down, Mr Trump unleashed new levies against Brazil this year, citing unfair trade practices.<\/p>\n
\nFlavio Bolsonaro (L) and Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula Da Silva pictured before a debate during the election campaign<\/p>\n
Mr Lula has cast the Trump administration’s proximity to the Bolsonaro clan as part of an attempt to sway the election, while labeling tariffs and other punitive measures as bullying.<\/p>\n
Mr Lula had asked electoral authorities to extend voting in at least nine states after his campaign alleged some officials reduced election day public transportation, impacting voters’ ability to get to the polls.<\/p>\n
Earlier, a court in Bahia, a Lula stronghold in the northeast, ordered the arrest of a top transportation official in the city of Salvador over allegations that he directed a reduction in the city’s bus fleet.<\/p>\n
Mr Bolsonaro had also asked for voting to be extended in at least three states, citing bad weather.<\/p>\n
A victory for Mr Bolsonaro, 45, would extend a wave of right-wing victories for Latin American candidates friendly to Mr Trump, while a fourth mandate for Mr Lula would be a disappointment in Washington, which has clashed with his government over trade and security.<\/p>\n
The election race has been dominated by corruption scandals, economic anxiety and accusations of US meddling, which Washington denies.<\/p>\n
On economic issues, despite falling inequality and unemployment, Mr Lula has struggled to win over an electorate grappling with high living costs and heavy household debt. Endemic gang violence also weighs on voters\u2019 minds.<\/p>\n
Mr Bolsonaro has sought to capitalise on cost-of-living concerns and has also promised a heavy-handed approach to fighting crime, pledging maximum-security jails and chemical castration for serious sexual offenses.<\/p>\n
Candidates neck and neck – polls<\/p>\n
Polls show the candidates are practically tied going into the runoff, as Mr Lula has closed the gap in the final days.<\/p>\n
Historical precedent favours Mr Bolsonaro, however, as no candidate has ever won the presidency after coming second in the first-round vote.<\/p>\n
Mr Bolsonaro picked up 47% of ballots cast in the first round, while Mr Lula trailed with 45%.<\/p>\n
The senator’s first-round win sent Brazil’s markets and currency soaring on expectations of pro-business reforms.<\/p>\n
His first-round success was mirrored in congressional elections for his Liberal Party and other right-wing politicians, which could pave a legislative path for him, or complicate governance for Mr Lula.<\/p>\n
Lula says some voters unable to vote over buses pulled in cities<\/p>\n
Mr Lula said many people had been “barred from voting” after buses were taken out of circulation in Sao Paulo and several other cities.<\/p>\n
“We are asking the Supreme Court to extend the electoral process so that those who were effectively barred from voting, due to the dirty tactics of mayors, can still cast their votes,” said Mr Lula.<\/p>\n
Mr Lula said 40% of buses were pulled from service in Sao Paulo, a problem also taking place in several cities in his native northeastern Brazil.<\/p>\n
“I’ve never complained about anything in any election before. Whether I won or lost, I’d just accept it and get ready for the next one. But this time, something abominable is happening,” he said.<\/p>\n
“No one should give up on voting just because some scoundrel of a business owner or some crooked, criminal mayor tried to stop the people from casting their ballots.”<\/p>\n
Local media reported that 75 buses had been prevented from leaving garages in the city.<\/p>\n
“We do, in fact, have transportation difficulties in some locations, which are already being resolved,” Kassio Nunes, president of the Superior Electoral Court, told journalists.<\/p>\n
Brazilians living in Ireland are voting at the RDS in Dublin<\/p>\n
Thousands of Brazilians from all over Ireland are voting at the RDS in Dublin today.<\/p>\n
They have had to brave the storm, overcome traffic restrictions because of the 45th Irish Life Dublin Marathon and a brief power cut at the RDS this morning.<\/p>\n
Electricity was lost for an hour, between 8:30am and 9:30am this morning. Voting was suspended for that hour but then resumed.<\/p>\n
Speaking to RT\u00c9 News the Brazilian ambassador said over half of registered voters here in Ireland are expected to vote in the election today.<\/p>\n