Flávio Bolsonaro votes in Brazil’s presidential runoff, calls for “real change”

Brazilian senator and presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro cast his vote in Rio de Janeiro on October 25 in the presidential runoff against incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the Workers’ Party (PT).

The Liberal Party (PL) candidate voted at polling station 170 at Barão Homem de Mello Municipal School in the city’s North Zone shortly after voting opened. After casting his ballot, Bolsonaro said he was calm and “in God’s hands.”

“The time has come for real change. That was the case in the first round, and it should be the same in the second. Brazil cannot withstand another four years in its current situation,” he told reporters outside the polling station.

He also urged voters to participate regardless of the weather, saying they should vote “rain or shine.”

Bolsonaro argued that people’s lives had worsened and questioned why voters would continue supporting the current course. He described what he called a climate of fear, citing concerns about walking at night, cellphone and motorcycle theft, empty refrigerators and unpaid bills.

The 45-year-old senator is seeking the presidency for the first time. His father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, was convicted over a coup plot following his defeat to Lula in the 2022 election.

Flávio Bolsonaro was selected as his party’s candidate in late 2025 after internal disputes and sought to present himself during the campaign as his father’s political heir.

A law graduate, he began his political career at age 21 and served four terms as a state legislator. He ran for mayor of Rio de Janeiro in 2016 but was not elected. Two years later, he won a Senate seat with more than four million votes, becoming the most-voted Senate candidate in Rio de Janeiro.

A decisive election

According to figures shared by Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE), more than 158.7 million people are eligible to vote. Voting is compulsory for literate citizens aged 18 to 70, while it is optional for illiterate voters, people aged 16 and 17, and those over 70. Polling stations are scheduled to close at 5 p.m.

Lula and Bolsonaro advanced to the runoff after finishing as the two leading candidates in the first round, held on October 4, when neither secured more than 50% of valid votes.

According to TSE results, Bolsonaro received 47.03% of the vote, totaling 56,104,503 ballots, while Lula received 45.16%, or 53,879,538 votes.

The runoff concludes a closely watched contest with potential implications for Brazil’s political direction, its role in Latin America and its relations with major global powers.