President Samia congratulates Brazil's Lula da Silva on historic fourth term re-election

BY DIRAMAKINI

PRESIDENT of the United Republic of Tanzania, Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, has extended her sincere congratulations to His Excellency Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva following his re-election as President of the Federative Republic of Brazil.

His Excellency Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

In a statement issued today, October 26, 2026, President Samia said: "On behalf of the Government and the people of the United Republic of Tanzania, I extend my sincere congratulations to His Excellency Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on his re-election as President of the Federative Republic of Brazil."

President Samia reaffirmed Tanzania's commitment to strengthening ties with the South American nation.

"Tanzania values its longstanding friendship with Brazil, and looks forward to continue building on this foundation to further strengthen bilateral relations and deepen cooperation, for the mutual benefit of our two nations," she said.

She concluded, "I wish His Excellency every success in his renewed mandate and continued peace and prosperity for the people of Brazil."

Lula's historic comeback

President Lula (80), staged a dramatic comeback to secure a historic fourth term, defeating his far-right challenger Flávio Bolsonaro in Sunday's second-round runoff.

According to results from Brazil's electoral authority, with 100% of votes counted, Lula garnered 51.79% of the vote against Bolsonaro's 48.21%, a margin of about 4.4 million votes.

The victory is historic. Lula had narrowly lost the first round in early October, and never since the return of democracy in the 1980s has the first-round runner-up won the second round.

Addressing ecstatic supporters in São Paulo after the results, Lula said: "We are going to change the way that this country is governed... This election was a defeat for denialism... it was democracy that made this happen."

His health minister, Alexandre Padilha, described the win as "a huge victory for the Brazilian people" and "an important signal to the rest of Latin America and to the world."

However, the election aftermath remains tense. Shortly after the electoral authority confirmed Lula's victory, Flávio Bolsonaro, 45, refused to concede defeat and said his legal team would seek to have the election annulled, claiming it was "impossible to concede the election result."

Tanzania and Brazil have maintained longstanding diplomatic relations, with cooperation in agriculture, health, education and environmental conservation.