Brazil has elected leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as President after he beat far-right incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro in a tight presidential election on Sunday.
Following the election, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif extended his wishes to Silva.
“I extend my congratulations to H.E. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on his election as President of Brazil. I wish him great success and look forward to working with him to enhance bilateral relations between the two countries. We share consensus on the dangers of climate change,” he said in a tweet.
According to the country’s election authority, Lula secured 50.8 per cent of the vote compared with 49.2 per cent for Bolsonaro.
In his victory speech, Lula said, “This country needs peace and unity. This population doesn’t want to fight anymore.”
This is the first time that the sitting president failed to re-win the elections.
Bolsonaro has made no public statement on the outcome.
Lula, a hero for the country’s left, could not run in the 2018 election after being incarcerated on corruption charges which were later annulled.
Lula left the presidency 12 years ago with record popularity after serving from 2003-2010. His conviction was later overturned by the Supreme Court, allowing him to run again for president this year.
