Ramaphosa, Putin, Modi, Biden congratulate Brazil’s Lula on winning presidential election

World leaders congratulate Brazil’s president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for winning tightly contested election. Photo: SA Presidency/File Photo.

World leaders congratulate Brazil’s president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for winning tightly contested election. Photo: SA Presidency/File Photo.

Published Oct 31, 2022

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On Monday, Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called for "peace and unity" after narrowly winning a divisive runoff election Sunday, staging a dramatic political comeback by defeating far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro -- who has yet to accept defeat.

President-elect Lula won 50.9% of the vote, while outgoing president Bolsonaro garnered 49.1% in the closely contested polls.

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday congratulated Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on his successful election to the position of president of the Republic of Brazil.

Taking to social media platform Twitter, Ramaphosa said that South Africa looks forward to working with the government of Brazil under the leadership of Lula da Silva.

“Our two countries share a number of common challenges and aspirations, and we cooperate at various levels including BRICS and numerous country-to-country, inter-regional and global mechanisms.”

The president further congratulated the people of Brazil for the successful manner in which they conducted the election.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday congratulated president-elect Lula.

Putin said he hoped for strengthened Brazil-Russia ties, and that the election result showed Lula's "high political authority", citing a statement on the Kremlin website.

US President Joe Biden also extended his congratulations to Lula.

“I send my congratulations to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on his election to be the next president of Brazil following free, fair and credible elections. I look forward to working together to continue the co-operation between our two countries in the months and years ahead.”

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated Lula for winning Brazil's presidential elections.

"Congratulations to @LulaOficial on winning the presidential elections in Brazil. I look forward to working closely together to further deepen and widen our bilateral relations, as also our co-operation on global issues," tweeted PM Modi.

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez will travel to Brazil on Monday to meet Lula.

Reuters reported on Monday that Brazil's outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro had yet to concede defeat in the presidential election, raising fears the far-right nationalist might contest the victory of his leftist rival, former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.