Brazil’s election left hanging as judge extends vote after polls close, sparking chaos

BREAKING: Brazil's presidential run-off thrown into chaos as a Supreme Court justice orders polls to stay open two more hours, minutes after voting had officially closed, in the tight race between Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro.

Brazil's presidential run-off ended at five pm. Then it didn't.

Minutes after polls officially closed, Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin ordered them back open for two more hours. The complaint came from President Lula's campaign, which said bus shortages in cities run by allies of his rival, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, kept voters from the polls. You can see the scale of Lula's final push in these pictures from Rio, a beachfront rally stretching down the waterfront.

Here's the detail everyone in Brazil is pointing at tonight. Zanin was Lula's personal lawyer before joining the court in 2023. An hour after his order, he narrowed it, only stations whose machines hadn't been shut down could keep going until seven pm. So some voters got back in line, and others were sent home.

A razor tight race, a disputed extension, and a judge with history on one side. Whatever the count says, half the country may not accept it.

This is Sara White, reporting for HIT.