Thank you for joining our live coverage, as colleagues in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Washington, Toronto and London brought live updates and analysis from the second round of Brazil's presidential election.

• Following a tight race between the two candidates, former leftist President Luiz Inácio 'Lula' da Silva won 50.9% of the vote, whilst incumbent far-right President Jair Bolsonaro lost his opportunity to be re-elected
• It was always expected to be a close race, but it was nail-biter experience until the end
• Bolsonaro, who had 49.1% of votes, has not yet spoken out about his defeat
• Lula will be sworn in on 1 January 2023 and he has promised to unite a divided nation
• The newly elected president has vowed to end Amazon deforestation, and his most urgent goal is eradicating hunger
• World leaders have started to congratulate Lula - French President Emmanuel Macron called for the renewal of ties of friendship between the two countries and US President Joe Biden said the elections were "free, fair, and credible"

Today's election was a narrow victory for Lula - the closest in over three decades.

There are just over 2.1 million votes separating the two candidates with 99.99% of votes counted.

In 2018, Bolsonaro took the lead with over 10 million votes more than Worker's Party candidate Fernando Haddad.

For incumbent Bolsonaro, it's a historic loss, as he became the first president to stand for re-election and lose.

In Brazil, presidents have been able to run for a second term since 1997, and all who have done so, apart from Bolsonaro, have succeeded.

Lula supporters are celebrating - but one couple has another reason to smile.

This video appears to show a marriage proposal happening among crowds of supporters in Rio minutes before Lula's win was announced.

Will Grant
BBC News, Havana

The sighs of relief from Havana and Caracas once Lula's win was confirmed were almost audible.

Regaining an ideological ally at the helm of such a powerful nation as Brazil instead of such a vocal enemy as Jair Bolsonaro was vitally important for the Latin American left.

Cuba, unsurprisingly, among the first governments to recognise their old ally's victory, and the island's president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, posted a recent photograph on Twitter of himself, Raul Castro and Lula clasped by the hands.

But beyond warm words from sympathetic foreign ministers, Lula's return may prove crucial to shaping the political landscape of modern Latin America.

Left-wing victories in Chile and Peru haven't necessarily provided the kind of unified bloc in the region which Venezuela and Cuba enjoyed under the so-called "Pink Tide" led by Hugo Chavez at the turn of the 21st Century.

Rather, their support has been contained to the increasingly authoritarian Cold War warrior, Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, and to an extent, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in Mexico.

The second coming of Lula -- a man who was always impressively adept at working with both Washington and Havana, with both Hugo Chavez and George W Bush -- may provide a vital tonic to their ailing economies.

As we've been reporting, Brazil's incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro lost the elections and former leftist President Luiz Inácio 'Lula' da Silva has won.

Lula will take office on 1 January 2023 and Bolsonaro will remain in office until then.

Lula gave a speech earlier this evening - we are still waiting to hear from the Bolsonaro camp.

Katy Watson
South America correspondent in São Paulo

On Avenida Paulista, the crowds kept coming as they gathered to wait for Lula to speak.

It was a sea of red, the colour of Lula’s Workers’ Party.

But there was also the odd Brazilian flag – colours more often associated with Bolsonaro’s camp.

There was a sense of defiance, that they were taking back a national symbol as belonging to everyone, not just the far-right.

There was an atmosphere of celebration but a huge sense of relief too – people were in tears.

It was always expected to be a close race but it really was a nail-biter to the end.

As we've been reporting, today is a momentous day for Brazilians, as an extremely divided country went to the polls to choose their next president.

Governors were also chosen during this year's elections.

Many were elected during the first round on 2 October, but 12 states in Brazil - out of the country's 26 states and federal district - elected governors who will lead them during the next four years.

• Bahia saw Jerônimo Rodrigues, from Lula's Worker's Party, win
• São Paulo saw Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas, from Bolsonaro's Liberal Party, win
• Santa Catarina saw Jorginho Mello from Bolsonaro's party win
• Alagoas elected Paulo Dantas from the MDB party

• Mato Grosso do Sul elected PSDB's Eduardo Riedel

• Rio Grande do Sul elected Eduardo Leite from PSDB

• Pernambuco elected Raquel Lyra from PSDB
• Espirito Santo saw Renato Casagrande from PSB win
• Paraíba elected João Azevêdo from PSB as its governor

• Amazonas elected Wilson Lima from União 44
• Rondônia elected Coronel Marcos Rocha from União 44
• And Sergipe elected Fábio Mitidieri from PSD

Watch the reaction from both camps as Lula is declared the winner of Brazil's election.

Image source, Reuters

Lula says his government will fight to cut deforestation in the Amazon to zero.

Promising to crack down on illegal activity in the rainforest, Lula says: "Brazil and the planet need an Amazon alive and breathing. A tree, still standing, is worth more than a ton of wood cut down illegally."

Lula says his most urgent goal is to eradicate hunger "once again".

He says that it should not be accepted as normal that millions of men, women and children in Brazil don't have enough to eat, or eat fewer calories and protein than is needed.

During his government, and the subsequent PT government led by Dilma Rousseff, eradicating hunger was at the top of the agenda.

Lula says it will be an immense challenge, and it is necessary to rebuild the country in all dimensions.

Image source, Reuters

Lula says Brazilians want to have hope again, and that's how he understands democracy.

He says he wants to tackle racism, and to ensure white, black and indigenous people have the same rights and access to the same opportunities.

Lula says he wishes for a Brazil "peace, democracy and dignity".

There is no such thing as "two Brazils", he adds. "We are one people".

Image source, Reuters

Lula says that Brazilian people want to live well, eat well, to have a job and access to education.

"Brazilian people want books instead of guns."

"It's time to put down the guns, which should have never been drawn," he says.

Bolsonaro's government loosened gun laws across Brazil, and saw gun ownership boom throughout his presidency.

Brazilian people want to have hope again, he adds.

Lula is now addressing his supporters and he has been thanking those who have helped him get to where he is today.

"Firstly, I want to thank God," Lula says.

He says these elections put head-to-head two very distinct visions for Brazil, and the winners were the Brazilian people.

Leaders from across the globe have started to congratulate Luiz Inácio 'Lula' da Silva on his win following today's election.

French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated Lula in a Twitter post, external, stating the two leaders would "renew ties of friendship between their countries".

Citing "free, fair, and credible elections", US President Joe Biden congratulated Lula in a statement shortly after the results were announced.

In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau referenced one of the biggest issues in these elections - the environment - while congratulating the president-elect in a Twitter post, external.

Image source, Getty Images

Left-wing Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he would to "improve the life of the people" across Brazil - but what exactly does that mean?

Here's a look at some of his promises:

• Salaries and taxes:

Lula promises to raise Brazil's minimum wage each year according to inflation, to give workers and retired Brazilians the chance to "put food on the table" again.

He also promised to work to improve Brazil's gender pay gap, citing the support of Simone Tebet, who lost out on the race in the first round, as an important part of this promise.

• Public services and unemployment:

Part of his government's plan is to focus on public services through government investments and creating thousands of new jobs.

One of the projects he will look to expand is Minha Casa Minha Vida, a programme his government set up in 2009 to help poorer families become homeowners.

• Young people:

His government promises to invest in public education services - with a strong focus on higher education - and ensuring internet access is available to those who need it most.

• Food insecurity and poverty:

Lula promises to bring back his social welfare programme Bolsa Família, which gave financial aid to Brazil's poorer families.

He also wants to support agricultural businesses to bring down food prices across the country.

If you're just joining us, here's a summary of how Brazil's presidential election unfolded.

• Uncertainty following first round:

On 2 October, Brazilians headed to the polls for the first time in these elections to choose their president - but none of the candidates received over 50% of the votes.

This triggered today's run-off between Lula and Bolsonaro, the candidates with the most votes in the first round.

• Tension and disinformation:

Riot police patrolled São Paulo's most important street, Avenida Paulista, as votes were being counted.

Electoral Court Chief Justice Alexandre De Moraes cracked down on online disinformation, removing 701 URLs and banning 15 profiles of “big fake news spreaders”.

The biggest concern throughout the day was an unusually high number of roadblocks carried by the federal highway police. Moraes said they may have delayed people from voting, but did not stop them.

• Lula wins:

Following a tight race between the two candidates, former president Luiz Inácio 'Lula' da Silva was officially declared Brazil's next president, with over 99% of the votes counted at 22:59GMT.

As we've been reporting, Lula won Brazil's presidential elections. The votes were extremely close, with no clear winner up until near 99% of all valid votes were counted.

As a politically divided country elects its new president, many have reacted with glee -and some with sorrow.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

It has been 20 years since Lula won the presidency for the first time.

A former metal worker and union leader, he became a familiar face during the strikes of the 1970s, when workers called for higher wages, defying Brazil's military rulers. He came to power promising change.

Helped by high commodity prices, he spent the windfalls on areas such as higher education and welfare programmes that contributed to lifting millions of Brazilians out of poverty.

In recent years, his legacy was tainted when his party - and Lula himself - was linked to corruption scandals. In 2017, he was sentenced to nine years in prison.

His convictions were annulled four years later, but his brush with the law means that many millions of Brazilians see him as a corrupt politician unfit for office.

Vanessa Buschschlüter
Latin America digital editor in Rio de Janeiro

The overwhelming reaction among Lula voters here in Rio is one of relief.

While opinion polls had predicted a Lula win from the start, many had lost confidence in them after Lula's advantage in the first round had been much slimmer than expected.

Lula supporters in this bar are not kidding themselves, though.

"We solved our first problem," one of them told me.

"Now we're going to celebrate and then we'll tackle the next one," he said referring to the healing of a divided nation.

And just a couple of minutes ago, Lula posted a picture of his hand over the Brazilian flag on on his Twitter with the caption: "Democracy."