In short
- Brazil’s general election is being held on Sunday 4 October 2026, with a run-off on 25 October if no candidate wins 50% of valid votes.
- Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro are both polling around 40%, while the other 11 candidates are at 4% or less, according to BBC Brasil’s tracker.
- Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s president from 2019 to 2023, is barred from office and is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election.
- Almost 160 million Brazilians are eligible to vote, and voting is compulsory for literate citizens aged between 18 and 70.
- Lula, 80, served two consecutive terms from January 2003 to December 2010 and beat Jair Bolsonaro by 1.8 percentage points in 2022.
Brazilians are voting on Sunday 4 October 2026 in a general election whose presidential race is led by incumbent Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva and right-winger Flávio Bolsonaro. Twelve candidates are standing, but only those two reached double figures in the opinion polls, both hovering around the 40% mark.
Who is on Brazil’s presidential ballot?
Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva, 80, is standing for the left-wing Workers’ Party and will turn 81 later this month. Flávio Bolsonaro, a right-winger and the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, is the most prominent of the 11 candidates challenging him. The remaining candidates are polling at 4% or less.
What do the polls say?
BBC Brasil’s poll tracker shows Lula slightly ahead of Flávio Bolsonaro, with both near 40%. At the end of September, 9% of voters were undecided, planned to spoil or cast a blank ballot, or said they would not vote at all. If no candidate wins 50% of valid votes in the first round, the top two contenders go to a run-off on 25 October.
Almost 160 million Brazilians are eligible to vote. Voting is compulsory for literate citizens aged between 18 and 70, with a fine imposed on those who do not cast a ballot. Brazilians aged 16 and 17 may vote but are not obliged to.
Why is Jair Bolsonaro not on the ballot?
Jair Bolsonaro, the right-wing former army captain who governed Brazil from 2019 to 2023, is barred from standing for office and is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election to Lula. The 71-year-old is under house arrest because of recurrent health problems and is prohibited from posting on social media or making public statements. At the launch of his son’s campaign, an AI-generated avatar of Jair Bolsonaro endorsed the candidacy.
What does Lula stand for?
Lula has been president three times. He served two consecutive terms from January 2003 to December 2010, when the Bolsa Família cash-transfer programme was credited with lifting millions out of poverty, and left office with approval ratings above 80%. His party was later hit by corruption scandals, and Lula spent more than 18 months in prison between 2018 and 2019 after convictions for corruption and money laundering, which he has always denied. Those convictions were annulled in 2021. He beat Jair Bolsonaro by 1.8 percentage points in 2022, said his third term would be his last, and was endorsed by his party again this year.
Some environmentalists have criticised his support for exploratory oil drilling in offshore waters near the mouth of the Amazon, a debate running alongside wider climate signals such as the 5.5% of ice Swiss glaciers lost in 2026. Lula says oil revenues are key to financing Brazil’s transition to clean energy, and his government points to satellite data showing deforestation in the Amazon in the first half of 2026 was the lowest in a decade.
Relations with US President Donald Trump have been rocky during Lula’s latest term. Referring to the “Donroe doctrine”, the national security strategy that asserts US dominance in the Western hemisphere should not be interfered with, Lula has said: “Brazil does not fit into anyone’s backyard.” The US president has separately weighed a diesel export ban while pressing European allies on reserves.
Frequently asked questions
Who is running against Lula in Brazil’s 2026 presidential election?
Flávio Bolsonaro, a right-winger and the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, is the most prominent of the 11 candidates challenging incumbent Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva on 4 October 2026.
Is voting compulsory in Brazil?
Voting is compulsory for literate Brazilians aged between 18 and 70, and those who do not cast a ballot face a fine. Brazilians aged 16 and 17 are entitled to vote but are not obliged to.
When would a second round of Brazil’s election be held?
If no candidate wins 50% of valid votes on 4 October 2026, the two best-placed contenders go to a run-off on 25 October 2026.
Why is Jair Bolsonaro not running for president?
Brazil’s former president, who governed from 2019 to 2023, is barred from standing for office and is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election to Lula.
With reporting from BBC News.
Stock image, not from the events described. Globe World — Jo%E3o%20Silas / Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)