Brazil's incumbent left-wing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated his right-wing rival Flávio Bolsonaro, overturning a defeat in the first round of voting.

According to Brazil's Superior Electoral Court, Lula secured 51.79% of the votes, compared with Bolsonaro's 48.21% - a difference of more than 4 million votes.

Lula's victory is the first time since Brazil's return to democracy in 1988 that a candidate who lost the first round has gone on to win the presidency.

Lula thanked his supporters who he said had "defended Brazilian democracy" - he also said the result showed Brazil "will not accept being anyone's backyard".

Bolsonaro said the result was "inexplicable" and has called for it to be annulled - though Brazil's Supreme Court president has confirmed the result and analysts tell the BBC the chances of an annulment are remote.

Voting was extended by two hours after a request from both campaigns. Lula's team alleged voter suppression due to a shortage of buses in several cities and Bolsonaro's team raised concerns about poor weather conditions in the south of the country.

(Source: BBC)