According to official results released by Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (STE), former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won the second round of the presidential election, defeating the incumbent head of state, Jair Bolsonaro.

“I have already had the opportunity to warmly congratulate Lula da Silva on his election as President of the Republic of Brazil. I look forward to our joint work in the coming years with great enthusiasm, in favour of Portugal and Brazil, but also around great global causes”, wrote António Costa on Twitter.

As secretary general of the PS, António Costa expressed support for Lula da Silva in this presidential election against the acting head of state of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro.

At around 23:00 in Lisbon, the STE gave the election as mathematically defined. When 99.17% of the sections were counted, the candidate of the Workers' Party (PT, left), Lula da Silva had 50.85% of the votes, against 49.15% for Jair Bolsonaro (far right).

Lula da Silva, who has already served two terms as president, between 2003 and 2011, returns to Palácio da Alvorado after a second-round victory, the first in Brazil's recent democratic history against a re-candidate head of state.

The former trade unionist will have Geraldo Alckmin, of the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB), as his vice president.