A number of African leaders have reacted to political events in South America, where Brazilians have elected a new president. Former president Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, the left-wing politician staged a comeback to the presidency beating incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, winning by less than two percent. Lula won with 50.9 percent to Bolsonaro's 49.1 percent, as supporters of right-wing Bolsonaro stood by in shock. Political veteran Lula served two terms as president in 2003 to 2010, and was credited with lifting 30 million Brazilians out of poverty during his tenure. Among African leaders who have reacted are: Kenya's William Ruto Hage Geingob of Namibia Macky Sall of Senegal who is also Chairman of the African Union Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa Below are some of the tweets:

Congratulations to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on your election victory. Kenya looks forward to closer relations with Brazil for the prosperity of our citizens. pic.twitter.com/2jX4KJ3pu7— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) October 31, 2022

I send my congratulations to Luiz Inácio #Lula da Silva on his brilliant election as President of #Brazil. I look forward to working with #LulaPresidente2022 to strengthen Namibia-Brazil relations for the development and prosperity of our two nations. pic.twitter.com/imkyBUBVYm— Dr Hage G. Geingob (@hagegeingob) October 31, 2022

Congratulations to Mr Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva @LulaOficial on his successful election to the position of President of the Republic of Brazil. South Africa looks forward to working with the government of Brazil under the leadership of Mr da Silva. pic.twitter.com/NhOHjJekRn— Cyril Ramaphosa ???????? (@CyrilRamaphosa) October 31, 2022

J’adresse mes chaleureuses félicitations à SEM Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva, @LulaOficial nouvellement élu Président du Brésil, avec mes meilleurs vœux de réussite.— Macky Sall (@Macky_Sall) October 31, 2022