A voter verifies his identity at a polling station during the second round of Brazil's 2026 presidential election in Brasilia, Brazil, on Oct. 25, 2026. Brazil's Supreme Federal Court extends voting in presidential runoff by two hours. (Photo by Lucio Tavora/Xinhua)
BRASILIA, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) on Sunday ordered a two-hour extension of voting in the country's presidential runoff, with polling stations set to close at 7 p.m. Brasilia time (2200 GMT), local media reported.
STF Justice Cristiano Zanin issued the ruling to address disruptions to voting caused by public transportation problems and heavy rains in several parts of the country.
Earlier on Sunday, the campaigns of incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of the Workers' Party and his rival Flavio Bolsonaro, candidate of the Liberal Party and son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, separately asked the STF to extend voting hours.
Citing the seriousness and urgency of the reported problems, Zanin ordered the voting deadline to be extended from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Brasilia time at all polling stations nationwide, tasking the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) with implementing the decision.
Lula's campaign requested the extension after reporting that voters in at least nine states, including Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Pernambuco, had encountered difficulties reaching polling stations due to reduced bus services and other public transportation problems.
Bolsonaro's campaign sought an extension in municipalities in Minas Gerais affected by power outages, including the state capital Belo Horizonte, as well as affected parts of Rio Grande do Sul.
At 5:49 p.m., TSE President Kassio Nunes Marques notified all regional electoral courts of the decision so that voting would be extended.
In Rio Grande do Sul, the regional electoral court said it would not reopen polls that had already closed. "In such cases, it is not possible to reopen the voting machines while maintaining the security of the system, and the voting that has already ended will not be resumed," the court said in a statement.
Vote counting was suspended at 5:06 p.m., with 335,743 valid votes counted. By that point, Lula had received 57.66 percent of the votes, or 193,574, while Bolsonaro had garnered 42.34 percent, or 142,169. ■
(261025) -- SAO PAULO, Oct. 25, 2026 (Xinhua) -- A voter verifies his identity at a polling station during the second round of Brazil's 2026 presidential election in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Oct. 25, 2026. Brazil's Supreme Federal Court extends voting in presidential runoff by two hours. (Photo by Paulo Lopes/Xinhua)
