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Brazilian presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro has called for Sunday’s runoff election to be annulled after losing to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who won a fourth term by coming from behind in the final round.

Getting into it: With all votes counted, Lula finished with 51.79% to Bolsonaro’s 48.21%, a margin of about 4.4 million votes. Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, said it was impossible for him to accept the result and pointed to a ruling by Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin that kept polls open two extra hours, until 7 p.m., after Lula’s campaign reported public transportation shutdowns in areas that lean toward him.

The fight started around 4 p.m. Sunday, when Lula’s coalition asked Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE) to extend voting in municipalities in several states, citing reduced bus service. TSE President Kassio Nunes Marques gave city governments half an hour to respond, and at 5:49 p.m. told regional courts to keep open any polling stations still operating. The decision divided the justices, and the extension led to chaos at some polling places that evening.

Bolsonaro argued his campaign had sought extensions only in municipalities in five states hit by heavy rain, flooding and power outages, while the nationwide extension violated equal treatment among states and changed the race after some polls had already closed. He also objected that the order came from a Supreme Court justice instead of a TSE judge, calling it “unacceptable” and a “dirty trick.”

He also claimed his Liberal Party (PL) poll watchers were removed from the TSE’s secure counting room after the extension was granted. The TSE said the claim was false.

Bolsonaro had narrowly edged Lula in the first round earlier this month, and no runner-up had ever come back to win a runoff since Brazil returned to direct presidential elections in 1989. Lula’s campaign focused on getting its voters to actually show up, and abstention fell from a record 21.08% in the opening round to 19.21% on Sunday.

The loss is a blow to Trump, who backed Bolsonaro and slapped an extra 25% tariff on some Brazilian goods this summer, a move Lula used to paint his opponent as “Trump’s candidate.” It also hurts Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest for plotting a coup after losing to Lula in 2022 and had hoped his son’s win would lead to his release.