Lula wins fourth term as Brazil president after historic upset over far-right Flávio Bolsonaro

BREAKING: Lula wins a fourth term as Brazil's president, defeating far-right Flávio Bolsonaro with 51.75% of the vote in a stunning comeback after narrowly losing the first round three weeks ago.

Lula just did something no Brazilian candidate has done since the dictatorship ended.

He lost the first round, then won the run-off. The 80-year-old president took 51.75 percent against Senator Flávio Bolsonaro's 48.25, a fourth term sealed by about 4.3 million votes. Three weeks ago he was down by 2.2 million. That's a six and a half million vote swing in twenty one days, and you can see what it unleashed here, Lula with his fist in the air in front of a sea of flags.

The maths is simple. Over 21 percent of voters stayed home in round one, and they skewed Lula's way. His entire campaign became one job, get them off the sofa. It worked, and the celebrations ran all night.

For the Bolsonaro family, this stings twice. The father banned from running, the son now beaten at the ballot box. Lula will be 84 when this term ends, governing a country that just split almost exactly down the middle.

This is Sara White, reporting for HIT.