Brazil · Elections — Key Facts
First round: Sunday, October 4, 2026. Polls close at 17:00 BRT (20:00 UTC); results follow within hours via the TSE’s electronic count.
Runoff: October 25, 2026, if no candidate wins more than 50% of valid votes. Every presidential race since 2002 has gone to a second round.
The race: Lula (PT) leads Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) by two to eight points in late-August first-round polls; all runoff simulations are tied within the margin of error.
The surprise: self-help writer Augusto Cury jumped from 1% to as high as 11% in August and holds third place.
