Far-right Jair Bolsonaro wins Brazil's presidential election

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01:06

Brazilian far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro has beaten left-leaning Workers' Party candidate Fernando Haddad in the presidential election runoff on Sunday and has been declared the winner, according to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.

Official results after polls closed gave the 63-year-old Bolsonaro 55.7 percent of the vote with more than 88 percent of the ballots counted as his vow to rescue the country from crisis with a firm grip resonated with Brazil's 147 million registered voters.

He will take office on January 1, 2019.

Supporters flooded the streets outside Bolsonaro's home in Rio de Janeiro, letting off fireworks and waving Brazilian flags.

Jair Bolsonaro, far-right lawmaker and presidential candidate of the Social Liberal Party (PSL), gestures during a runoff election, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October 28, 2018. /Reuters Photo

Haddad, a 55-year-old former Sao Paulo mayor, had been making up ground after finishing a distant second to Bolsonaro in the first round three weeks ago with just 29 percent compared to 46.

On Sunday, Bolsonaro voted at a military academy in Rio de Janeiro, ducking in through a side door to avoid the waiting crowd.

Wearing an army-green jacket, he left with a double thumbs-up, saying only that he could not make a statement for security reasons.

Observers said the greatest challenge Bolsonaro will face is governing as an anti-establishment politician in the deeply divided country.

Supporters of right-wing candidate Jair Bolsonaro of the PSL party celebrate victory in the presidential elections in Sao Paulo, Brazil, October 28, 2018. /VCG Photo

Bolsonaro vows to defend 'constitution, democracy and freedom'

Bolsonaro pledged to defend "the constitution, democracy and freedom" after winning the election Sunday, fending off opponents' warnings he would try to veer toward authoritarianism.

"This is not the promise of a party, nor the word of a man. It is an oath before God," he said in his victory speech.

"After decades, Brazil finally has a chance to elect a president who truly represents Brazilians' values," Bolsonaro had tweeted on Saturday, in his final pitch to voters.

Bolsonaro conducted his entire campaign on social media since an attacker stabbed him in the stomach at a rally in early September, sending him to the hospital for three weeks.

Supporters of right-wing candidate Jair Bolsonaro of the PSL party celebrate victory in the presidential elections in Sao Paulo, Brazil, October 28, 2018. /‍VCG Photo

Who is Jair Bolsonaro?

With an affinity for the American president, the Brazilian ex-army captain has been nicknamed the "Tropical Trump."

"I am an admirer of President Trump. He wants a great United States. I want a great Brazil," he said once.

Despite being dubbed the Trump of the Tropics, Bolsonaro is not a real estate tycoon but rather a politician with strong ties to the military.

His supporters said Bolsonaro is the man that can sweep away political corruption and rescue Brazil from its many troubles, especially what they claim is their biggest enemy: the leftist Workers' Party, which has won the past four presidential elections.

Bolsonaro, a 63-year-old ex-army captain turned politician, has been a congressman since the early 1990s. He now represents the Social Liberal Party.

(With inputs from AFP)