Votes are being counted to decide Brazil's next president - here's a reminder of the basics
Right-wing senator Flávio Bolsonaro - who won the first round earlier this month - is facing incumbent President Lula da Silva
Pollster Datafolha projects that President Lula will win the election - but vote counting is still under way and an official result is yet to be declared
Voting was extended by two hours at some polling stations earlier, after both campaigns pushed for it - it shows just how close they think the outcome will be, writes Ione Wells from Brasília
Follow live coverage from BBC Brasil in Portuguese
Ione Wells
Reporting from Brasília
I’m outside the house where Flávio Bolsonaro is watching the results in Brasilia.
A huge screen is set up, and the assumption is he was due to give a speech here.
As I walked in, I saw some supporters of Bolsonaro decked in the Brazilian flags and colours walking away looking quite despondent.
The official vote count is still under way in Brazil's presidential run-off, but pollster Datafolha projects that President Lula will win the election.
The result has not yet been declared by the electoral court, but with more than 80% of the vote counted Lula is marginally in the lead.
We may hear an official result relatively soon.
More than 60% of the votes have now been counted as Flávio Bolsonaro and President Lula da Silva are locked in a knife-edge contest to become Brazil's next president.
The country's Supreme Court (TSE) says 85, 893,756 votes have now been counted, representing 67.39% of the total vote.
We'll bring you the latest updates as counting continues across Brazil.
Polls have closed in Brazil's presidential election, with supporters of both candidates being seen on the country's streets this evening.
The delay of polls being closed means that the result of this year's election could be pushed back by several hours, BBC correspondent Ione Wells writes.
These photos show voters gathering in Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Brasília as they await the results this evening.
Image source, Reuters
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Image source, EPA/ShutterstockPolls have closed and results are coming in from across Brazil after a tense few hours and a last-minute voting extension.
With around 10% of votes counted, you can follow the latest results and the breakdown by state over on BBC News Brasil's election map.
It's still too early to be able to tell which way it is going to go, and with this election being one of the closest the country has ever seen, it is likely to be a while until a definite result comes in.
Gabriela Boccaccio
Live reporter
Image source, Sofia DuarteThe electronic voting machines were already in boxes once the extension was announced
A polling station worker says no one knew what to do as a voting extension was announced across the country.
Sofia Duarte was volunteering for the election at a school in the city of São Paulo when she started seeing reports on social media about a possible voting extension.
"No one told us anything. So as usual, we wrapped things up at 17:00 (20:00 GMT). We printed the voting tallies, all in accordance with the protocol," Sofia tells BBC News.
She says the queue she stood in to deliver the electoral documents was not moving, at which point "we connected the dots that maybe we would have to reopen the machines - but how?"
Duarte asked an employee of the regional electoral court about the situation and says she was told "no one knew what was going on".
"No one knew how to act. This had never happened before and no one knew how to proceed," she says.
Sofia adds that they were told to stay at the school until 19:00 (22:00 GMT), but at 18:00 (21:00) they were told to handover the voting machines and leave.
Ione Wells
Reporting from Brasília
Things here feel very tense.
We were supposed to have some results by now, but here at Brazil’s top electoral court a dramatic decision was taken to extend voting by two hours.
That was after concerns by both campaigns that public transport disruption and bad weather had affected voter turnout.
Their concerns are indicative of just how close they think this could be - and that they’re fighting for every vote. That is because in the last few days the polls have really narrowed - too close to call, the pollsters said.
But because of this eleventh hour decision some polling stations had already closed.
I suspect if the result is extremely close - this isn’t the last we will hear about that disruption and we could see attempted appeals.
Image source, ReutersPolls have closed for the second time in the Brazilian presidential election after the country's Supreme Court issued an extension of two hours across the country.
The vote had initially finished at 17:00 local time (20:00 GMT), but this was extended to 19:00 following a request made by President Lula's campaign in three cities in the state of Bahia - alleging voters had been affected by disruption to public transport.
Minister Cristiano Zanin later specified the extension only applied where voting has not yet been finalised, as some polling stations had already closed their machines at the original time of 17:00.
Flávio Bolsonaro's campaign had also requested for polls to stay open longer, saying bad weather as a result of heavy rains in several cities could have hindered voters.
We will bring you the latest updates as votes are counted here.
Image source, ReutersSpeaking to journalists, Lula called for polls to stay open longer
In the last hour, polls in Brazil have been extended by two hours after a last-minute decision. But how did we get here?
Image source, ReutersWe're hearing more now from the Supreme Court minister who granted a two-hour voting extension across the country.
In an additional note to his first statement, Minister Cristiano Zanin now says polls must remain open until 19:00 local time (22:00 GMT) only where voting has not yet been finalised.
As Brazil uses electronic voting machines, once they are closed, they cannot be re-opened. Some polling stations had already closed their machines at the original time of 17:00 (think of it as turning off a computer that cannot be turned back on), while others had remained open as people were still queuing at 17:00.
The minister now says that in polling stations where voting had already been finalised, the result will be counted as it was declared at 17:00. Meanwhile, at polling stations which hadn't yet closed all of their machines, voting can continue until the extended time of 19:00.
Image source, Getty ImagesSeveral poll workers have told BBC Brasil that they had already been dismissed despite the polls being extended by two hours.
One worker says she saw a woman try to enter a school that had been used as a polling station after 17:00 local time, citing the minister's decision to extend the polls, but was prevented from voting.
The principal of a state school in Pirituba, a neighborhood in the western part of São Paulo, tells BBC Brasil his polling station had already closed and issued the ballot box reports when the local electoral office announced the extension.
He says there are no technical guidelines on how to reopen the ballot boxes, despite the Regional Electoral Court (TRE) ordering polling stations to remain open.
The principal of a school in the Limão neighbourhood of the city also said they had finished for the day, but the ballet boxes still remain at the polling station.
Image source, ReutersUS President Donald Trump says he is watching the Brazilian elections after being asked by journalists who he was supporting.
Brazil's relationship with the US has been at the heart of this election. A win for Bolsonaro would add Brazil to the list of Western Hemisphere countries aligned with the Trump administration.
Flávio Bolsonaro has actively courted Trump and members of his administration by portraying himself as a loyal ally during a meeting at the White House in May.
Ione Wells
Reporting from Brasília
This is a highly unusual step by Brazil’s top electoral court to extend voting by two hours.
President Lula was concerned about disruption to the public transport bus network in the major cities of São Paulo and Salvador.
It’s no surprise that would concern him: São Paulo state is a key swing state, and the city is the most populous in South America so accounts for a significant number of votes.
Salvador is also, traditionally, a city where he enjoys a strong voter base in Brazil’s northeast.
Flávio Bolsonaro’s campaign also reportedly raised concerns about bad weather affecting areas in São Paulo and Santa Catarina, a southern city where he also enjoys a strong support base.
This decision could well mean that results are pushed back several hours, or even into the early hours of the morning.
As we have just reported, following a decision by the country's Supreme Court, voting has been extended in Brazil's presidential election until 19:00 local time (22:00 GMT).
The decision was made following a request made by President Lula's campaign in three cities in the state of Bahia. The campaign alleged voters had been affected by public transport disruption.
The request was granted by Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin and applies to polling stations across the country.
Zanin says the court became aware of the situation at 16:32 local time, and the order had been made given the seriousness of the allegations and the urgency of the situation.
The minister also instructed the Superior Electoral Court to take the necessary steps to comply with the order.
Brazil's Supreme Court has extended voting in the country's presidential election for another two hours.
The decision comes after both campaigns asked the court to extend the voting period.
As we've been reporting, Flávio Bolsonaro's campaign has also requested for polls to stay open longer.
The campaign says in a request sent to the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) that bad weather as a result of heavy rains in several cities could hinder voters, asking for the polls to be extended to 19:00 local time (22:00 GMT).
The cities include São Paulo, Jundiaí, Itapevi, Americana, Santa Bárbara d'Oeste, Itapetininga, Botucatu, Apiaí, Ribeira and Iporanga in the state of São Paulo; Curitiba and Guaratuba in Paraná; Tijucas, Videira, Trombudo Central, Joaçaba and Águas de Chapecó in Santa Catarina.
Image source, ReutersPolls have now closed in Brazil's presidential election run-off between left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and right-wing senator Flávio Bolsonaro.
However, both Lula and Bolsonaro have asked for polls to remain open for longer in some areas.
Lula claimed public transport in Salvador and São Paulo had been disrupted, while Bolsonaro's campaign called for extended hours in a large number of cities - claiming bad weather could hinder voters.
It's not clear whether either request will be allowed - we'll bring you updates here when we have it.
Julia Braun
BBC Brasil in London
Image source, Leobark Rodrigues/Secom/TSEAlmost half of eligible voters aged 70 or older did not go to the polls in the first round of the 2026 Brazil presidential elections.
Abstention reached 49.1% in this age group, according to data from the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) — the highest among all age groups.
In absolute numbers, this represents more than 8 million Brazilians who did not go to the polls — or almost four times the difference in votes between Flávio Bolsonaro and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the first round, which was just over 2.2 million.
It's mandatory for Brazilians aged 18 to 69 to vote - but for those aged 16 and 17, and 70 and above, it is not.
In other words, in addition to winning their votes, campaigns had to work to convince older voters to go to the polls.
For political scientist Mayra Goulart, professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), this is possibly the most strategic group in the second round.
"It is in this age group that we observe the highest [proportional] level of abstention and, therefore, since we are talking about a narrow margin of votes, it can be decisive for one candidate or another," she says.
Polls for Brazil's presidential election are set to close in less than an hour, at 17:00 local time (20:00 GMT).
Brazil's electoral court president Justice Kassio Nunes Marques says it is looking reports that transport has been disrupted in some cities.
It comes after President Lula asked for polls to remain open longer due to the disruption. Lula's party has requested that polls in areas afffected by the disruption remain open until 19:00 local time (22:00 GMT).
Julia Braun
BBC Brasil in London
Image source, EPA/ShutterstockBrazilian citizens queue outside a polling station in Zurich for the vote on Sunday
Countries in Asia, Africa and Oceania have already finished voting in the second round of the presidential election this Sunday.
According to the first ballot box reports released by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Flávio Bolsonaro defeated President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Japan, the United Arab Emirates, and Hong Kong, among other countries.
The Workers' Party candidate, on the other hand, came out ahead in countries like China, Australia, and New Zealand.
For context: Polls are still open until 17:00 local time(20:00 GMT), at which point vote counting will begin.
According to the TSE (Superior Electoral Court), almost one million Brazilians are eligible to vote abroad — or just over 0.5% of the total Brazilian electorate. This year, this total is distributed across 186 cities.
The rules for those voting outside the country are the same as those followed by voters residing in Brazil, that is, voting is mandatory for literate individuals aged 18 to 70.
You can read more on how other countries have been voting in today's election in the Portuguese live page from BBC Brasil.
