Incumbent Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro have wrapped up their campaigns ahead of Sunday’s closely fought presidential runoff, making a final push to mobilise supporters and win over undecided voters.
The two candidates held rallies in key cities on Saturday (24 October) after opinion polls showed a tight race. A CNT/MDA poll gave Bolsonaro a 1.3-percentage-point lead on the eve of the vote.
Lula, 80, who is seeking a fourth non-consecutive term as president, began his final day of campaigning with a march along Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach, joined by thousands of supporters.
“We’re going to win the election for one simple reason: it’s true that the people want change, but they want to move forward. They don’t want to go backward,” Lula told journalists before the rally.
The left-wing incumbent later travelled to São Paulo, where he led another march along Paulista Avenue, one of Brazil’s best-known venues for political demonstrations.
The election could mark Lula’s final campaign for office after a political career spanning several decades. The former union leader served two terms as president from 2003 to 2010 before returning to office in 2023.
Flávio Bolsonaro, 45, spent part of his final campaign day in Belo Horizonte, capital of Minas Gerais, where he joined supporters in a motorcycle caravan.
The state is considered an important electoral battleground and has backed the eventual presidential winner in every election since Brazil’s return to democracy in the 1980s.
“The time is almost here. There are only a few hours left before we shape the future of our nation for the next 30 or 40 years,” Bolsonaro said in a social media video.
He later joined a campaign march in Rio de Janeiro, the state he has represented in the Senate since 2019.
Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, entered the presidential race after receiving his father’s backing last December.
Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced to more than 27 years in prison for plotting a coup following his defeat to Lula in the 2022 presidential election. Jair Bolsonaro maintains his innocense and his lawyers describe the proceedings of the trial as illegitimate and politically motivated. His family continue to claim he was unfairly targeted, according to reports.
Flávio Bolsonaro has campaigned on promises for tougher action against organised crime, lower taxes and reductions in public spending, while Lula has focused on defending his government’s social and economic agenda.
Bolsonaro entered the runoff after finishing ahead of Lula in the first round on 4 October.
According to Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court, Bolsonaro received 47.03 per cent of valid votes, while Lula secured 45.16 per cent, leaving neither candidate with the majority required to win outright.
The unexpectedly narrow gap has intensified campaigning ahead of the second round, with both sides seeking to increase turnout and attract voters who backed other candidates earlier this month.
Lula and Bolsonaro faced each other in a final televised debate on Friday, clashing over the cost of living and exchanging personal attacks as the campaign entered its final hours.
More than 158 million Brazilians are eligible to vote in the 2026 elections. Polling stations are due to open at 08:00 and close at 17:00 Brasília time on Sunday, with vote counting beginning after polls close.
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