Investigations

Flávio Bolsonaro rejected Brazil's election result over extended voting hours

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was declared the winner as supporters filled São Paulo and the defeated candidate called the extension illegal.

In São Paulo, crowds celebrated after Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was declared the winner of Brazil's presidential election while Flávio Bolsonaro, the defeated challenger, refused to accept the outcome and called a two-hour voting extension illegal. YouTuber Nick Shirley filmed the street rallies and posted the report on Oct. 26, 2026.

The race pitted Lula's left-wing coalition against Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who serves a long prison term under house arrest after Brazil's Supreme Federal Court convicted him of plotting to stay in power after losing the prior election to Lula.

Shirley said officials declared Lula the winner as supporters waved communist flags and chanted for LGBT rights and workers. Interviewees told him they voted to block what they called fascism and credited Lula with defending trans and women's rights after public transport failures kept voters from reaching polls in several cities.

Lula went on national television hours before the result and demanded extra time, Shirley reported. For the first time in a Brazilian presidential vote, a Supreme Federal Court justice approved two additional hours of balloting after Lula's camp said people could not reach stations when buses stopped running.

Supporters Shirley spoke with blamed São Paulo Mayor Ricardo Nunes, a Flávio Bolsonaro ally, for coordinating transport disruptions with other right-wing mayors. One voter said the Superior Electoral Court had backed the extension so everyone could vote after what she called a failed coup attempt.

Police later arrived in riot gear as celebrations continued. Shirley also interviewed a Dutch tourist who said he had joined the crowd for the parties rather than the politics.

Near the end of his report Shirley read a statement from Flávio Bolsonaro saying he would never know how many votes he might have received while stations stayed closed. The candidate accused a Supreme Federal Court justice who had served as Lula's former lawyer of issuing a unilateral decree at 5:01 p.m. to change the rules mid-election, outside the specialized electoral court's authority.

Flávio Bolsonaro said the extension had never happened before in Brazilian history and called it illegal. He did not concede defeat in the statement Shirley quoted.

Source video: Brazil Falls... Communist Take Over The Country