Brazilian voters elected Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as the country’s new president on Sunday, giving the former leftist leader another shot at power in a rejection of Jair Bolsonaro’s far-right politics.
The latter have been seen as the most divisive elections in Brazil’s history amid concerns over political violence, corruption, growing poverty and the fate of the Amazon rainforest, among other issues.
According to the country’s electoral authority, Da Silva, or Lula, as he is known, received 50.9% of the vote and Bolsonaro 49.1%.
However, hours after the results were in – and congratulations from world leaders – Bolsonaro had yet to publicly acknowledge or react in any way.
“Until now, Bolsonaro has not called me to recognize my victory and I don’t know if he will or will recognize my victory,” Lula told supporters celebrating his victory in Sao Paulo after the results were announced.
A source in Bolsonaro’s campaign team told the president would not make public comments until Monday.
Bolsonaro’s campaign had made repeated – unproven – claims of possible electoral manipulation ahead of the vote, raising fears that, if he lost, he would not accept defeat and try to challenge the results.
