Lula beats Bolsonaro by a narrow margin with 95.96 percent counted

The left-wing candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (50.68 percent) has been imposed by a narrow margin on his rival and current Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro (49.32 percent) with 95.96 percent counted and consolidates thus the comeback options after a start of the count in which Bolsonaro was ahead.

The projection of the Datafolha polling company also augurs Lula's victory and thus confirms that Bolsonaro becomes the first Brazilian president not to win re-election. According to the study, Bolsonaro would no longer have options to recover and turn around the current result.

Datafolha's forecast uses data from the official count and weights it by region based on previous results and voter turnout in each state, all in collaboration with the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics.

These results close a tense campaign of political violence and polarization for a country that is highly divided and with a president who will be 77 years old when he takes office. It will be his third spell in power after his two terms from 2003-2010.