Brazil's Liberal Party has acknowledged the results of Sunday's presidential election, recognizing incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's victory over opposition candidate Flávio Bolsonaro.
The party's president, Valdemar Costa Neto, said in a statement Monday that the party recognizes the election results but believes "questions raised about the vote" still need to be clarified. Bolsonaro himself has yet to formally concede defeat.
Lula won just over 51% of the valid votes, approximately 64.2 million, compared with more than 48%, or nearly 59.8 million, for Bolsonaro. The result marked a major comeback for Lula, who had trailed his challenger in the first round.
In a video posted Monday, Bolsonaro shifted his approach, saying he would seek to have Lula's election victory disqualified over alleged abuses of political and economic power. "The law must apply to everyone," he said. "The competition must be fair and equal, which did not happen." Bolsonaro provided no evidence to support the claim.
Bolsonaro also said Brazil's Federal Police had ordered him to surrender his passports after he visited his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, in Brasília. The former far-right president is under house arrest after being sentenced to 27 years in prison for his role in the 2022 coup attempt against Lula.
"I was ordered right on the street to hand over my passports, and I'm also prohibited from leaving the country," Bolsonaro said in the video. He said the order was based on remarks by his brother Eduardo, who lives in the United States, suggesting he should leave Brazil if he lost the election. The passport order was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes in connection with a separate investigation.
Despite the travel ban, reports indicate Bolsonaro subsequently left Brazil for the United States following the election defeat.
The concession by the Liberal Party came as US President Donald Trump questioned the election's legitimacy, telling reporters Monday, "I didn't take sides, but it looked like another rigged election." Trump offered no evidence of fraud.
Bolsonaro had initially said he would seek to annul the election results, citing alleged irregularities including a last-minute extension of voting hours. On Sunday, the Supreme Court ordered polling stations to remain open for two additional hours, until 7 p.m., following an appeal by Lula's campaign, which cited public transportation disruptions. Bolsonaro's campaign had also requested an extension, citing heavy rain in southern Brazil.
Lula's victory celebrations rang out across Brazil on Sunday night. Near downtown Rio de Janeiro, supporters hugged, shouted and sang the national anthem. Gains in major cities, including Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, helped Lula overcome his first-round deficit, along with support from younger, older and working-class voters.
In his victory speech in São Paulo, Lula singled out young people who had helped mobilize support for his campaign. "I wanted to thank the Brazilian people for the generosity they have shown me for a long time," he said. "And in this second round, I want to thank the Brazilian youth for their generosity in taking to the streets. They took to the streets to defend democracy in the country."
Lula gained more than 10 million additional votes compared with the first round, helped by increased turnout and support from voters who had backed other candidates or had previously stayed away from the polls.
"No wonder pollsters said a Lula victory was almost impossible," said Thiago Vidal, a political analyst with Prospectiva consultancy.
