Brazil’s presidential vote on Sunday, October 25, 2026, will run two hours longer than planned after the Supreme Court ordered polls to stay open until 7 p.m. in Brazil, or 2200 GMT. The court acted as each campaign raised objections about access: Lula’s side said bus service had been curtailed, while Bolsonaro’s side blamed bad weather in some regions.
- Extra time: The court added two hours beyond the scheduled close after complaints from both camps, with Lula’s team saying transport problems blocked access and Bolsonaro’s team saying rain made turnout harder in certain areas.
- São Paulo dispute: Lula said 40% of São Paulo’s buses were kept from operating, which local media broadly echoed with reports that 75 buses could not leave garages.
- German ballots: Lula took 79.09% of 20,923 votes cast in Germany, up from 71.9% in the first round; Berlin gave him 88.77%, while Frankfurt was Bolsonaro’s best city at 29.03%.
- Result timing: Superior Electoral Court president Kassio Nunes Marques said the official winner should be known from 8:30 to 9 p.m. (2330–0000 GMT), with electronic counting allowing a fast tally and a narrow margin expected.
Lula: buses kept voters away in São Paulo
Lula asked the court to extend voting after buses stopped running in São Paulo, the biggest Brazilian city. He said the lack of transport kept many residents from casting ballots. According to Lula, 40% of the city’s buses were held back; local media accounts said 75 buses could not leave their garages, a figure broadly consistent with his claim.
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.
He added that he had never protested the handling of any earlier election, win or lose, and called this episode abominable.
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.
Lula also told voters not to surrender their ballots because a business owner or mayor sought to stop them.
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.
Bolsonaro’s campaign made its own request for more time in areas where rain made reaching polling places harder. The added two hours moved the scheduled close to 7 p.m. in Brazil, 2200 GMT.
Germany backs Lula; logistics stretch across Brazil
Data from Brazilian embassies in Germany, seen by DW’s Portuguese service, put the left-wing incumbent, Lula, at 79.09% among 20,923 voters, higher than his 71.9% first-round share. Balloting was available at missions in Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Cologne. Berlin produced his strongest result, 88.77%, while Frankfurt was Bolsonaro’s best German city at 29.03%, still far behind Lula. Turnout grew from 19,322 in the first round, yet only about half of Germany’s 41,552 eligible voters participated in either round. Globally, about 918,900 people were eligible Sunday.
The election drew almost 160 million voters. Campaign colors were visible: red commonly signaled Lula support, often with the number 13 used to select him on the electronic machine, while Bolsonaro backers favored yellow and green, including Brazil’s soccer jersey, as seen in Lisbon. Dense cities such as Rio de Janeiro created queue and organizational pressures. In the Amazon, officials transported polling booths by boat. Soldiers were deployed as part of the vast operation, given concerns that disruption could cast doubt on the outcome.
Trump ties, regional stakes and a quick count
US President Donald Trump made no endorsement in the race, but he maintains close links to the Bolsonaro family. During his second term, Trump has intervened more often in South American affairs, including a military operation intended to remove Venezuela’s President Maduro. Bolsonaro, the elder, echoed Trump’s language and policies and rejected his 2022 loss to Lula; that refusal contributed to his imprisonment over an attempted coup and invited comparisons with Trump’s 2020 defeat by Joe Biden.
Lula cast himself as a check on US influence. After voting Sunday, he aimed his remarks at the right.
“The right wants to govern with the American flag.”
A Bolsonaro win would extend a Latin American trend toward far-right leaders aligned with Washington, after Colombia, Chile and Peru.
Kassio Nunes Marques, president of the Superior Electoral Court, said a rapid result is normal in “practically all elections” in Brazil, according to A Folha de Sao Paolo. He expected the official winner between 8:30 and 9 p.m. (2330–0000 GMT). Electronic voting permits faster tallying than hand-counted paper, though the race was expected to be tight, with the candidates running neck and neck.
The extension addressed an access problem, but it also made voting mechanics a political issue. Lula’s complaint about São Paulo buses and the Bolsonaro camp’s weather concerns gave each side a reason to question whether voters could participate freely, even as officials promised a swift electronic count. Germans’ ballots showed a lopsided preference for Lula, while the domestic contest was expected to be close. Trump’s relationship with the Bolsonaro family, the former president’s refusal to accept 2022, and Lula’s sovereignty appeal form the backdrop. A winner may be known within hours; acceptance may take longer. The outcome will shape Brazil’s regional alignment and a race marked by courts, transport and foreign interference.