Serbia and Brazil Deliver Back-to-Back Blows to Right Wing as Crucial Election Stretch Begins

Brasilia/ Belgrade: Pro-democracy forces scored two major victories within hours of each other on Sunday. Serbia’s student-led movement ended Aleksandar Vucic’s 14-year grip on power, and Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva beat Flavio Bolsonaro, giving momentum to challengers of authoritarian-leaning right-wing leaders ahead of crucial votes in Israel, the United States and Spain.

In Belgrade, Vucic conceded defeat in the snap parliamentary election, saying the students’ list had won. He projected the students’ slate to win 135 to 140 of the 250 seats, with his party taking about 105. The movement, which emerged from demonstrations and fielded doctors, teachers and other candidates, many without political experience, was backed by some established opposition parties. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated the movement and offered support for reforms on rule of law, media freedom and anti-corruption.

In Brazil, the electoral court declared Lula the winner with 51.76 percent of the vote to Bolsonaro’s 48.24. It was the first time a candidate who finished second in the first round has won the runoff. The result halts a right-wing wave sweeping Latin America and is a blow to the movement built by Jair Bolsonaro. The aftermath is tense. Flavio Bolsonaro said he cannot recognise Lula’s win and will ask courts to annul the runoff. The day saw allegations of voter suppression and a last-minute extension of voting hours. Justice Cristiano Zanin extended voting by two hours after transport disruptions and heavy rain.

The Guardian has framed the coming weeks as a test of whether the authoritarian drift can be slowed or reinforced, with all five races described as close contests over democratic norms.

Israel votes on Tuesday. A Maariv poll puts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc at 48 seats against 54 for the opposition, although neither side appears able to reach the 61 seats needed, so another election could follow. Donald Trump has given Netanyahu his “complete and total endorsement.”

On November 3, the US votes in midterm elections. One forecast gives Democrats an 88 percent chance of winning the House, with Trump’s net approval at record low.