Brazil’s Workers’ Party (PT) confirmed former Araraquara mayor and ex-communications minister Edinho Silva as its new national president on Monday, tightening his hold on the party’s dominant Construindo um Novo Brasil faction and giving President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva a close ally at the helm ahead of the 2026 election cycle. Preliminary tallies from Sunday’s direct membership vote showed Silva with about 239,000 votes, or 73.5% of the 342,300 ballots counted. His nearest rival, former party chair Rui Falcão, secured 11%, followed by Romênio Pereira with 11% and Valter Pomar with 4%. Balloting in Minas Gerais—a key party stronghold—was delayed by a court dispute, but officials said Silva’s lead of more than 60 percentage points made the outcome irreversible. Silva, 60, will serve through 2029, succeeding interim president Senator Humberto Costa, who stepped in after Gleisi Hoffmann joined Lula’s cabinet earlier this year. In remarks after his victory, the new leader said the PT’s immediate priority is to craft an electoral strategy that secures Lula’s re-election in 2026 and broadens the party’s alliances toward the centre. He is scheduled to assume the post formally at a national party meeting in August.