President Lula da Silva narrowly defeated his major challenger, Flávio Bolsonaro, in Brazil’s presidential election held on Sunday to return for a fourth term.

In an official announcement by Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court, Mr da Silva polled 51.79 per cent of the vote to edge Mr Bolsonaro, who polled 48.21 per cent, in Sunday’s election.

After he was declared winner, Mr da Silva told his supporters, “This was a defeat for denialism and lies. I must confess that every time I attended a debate, I felt embarrassed. Either the homeland remains free, or we die for Brazil. This country will not accept being anyone’s backyard.”

However, his opponent, Mr Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence for attempting a coup after losing the 2022 presidential election, rejected the result.

“It’s impossible to recognise the results of the election in the context of these things that happened,” Mr Bolsonaro said.

Mr da Silva, 81, has secured a fourth term in office, having won previous elections in 2002, 2006 and 2022.

Sunday’s run-off followed the October 5 election, in which no candidate polled over 50 per cent of the vote.

In the first round, Mr Bolsonaro, a right-wing politician, polled 47.03 per cent of the total vote, while Mr da Silva polled 45.16 per cent.