Sao Paulo , Brazil ( CNN ) -- Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff won a hotly contested runoff election on Sunday . With more than 99 % of votes counted , the incumbent Rousseff had 51.59 % of the vote , according to official results . Opposition candidate Aecio Neves garnered 48.41 % . Neves said he called to congratulate Rousseff , who thanked voters on Twitter late Sunday for their support . The election was one of the tightest competitions in recent years . Before becoming the country 's first female president in 2011 , Rousseff , from the Workers ' Party , was chief of staff to former President Lula da Silva . She claims that under the presidencies of her predecessor and herself , masses of Brazilians have risen out of poverty . Rousseff , 66 , presided over the soccer World Cup in Brazil . She took a lot of political flack over how public money was spent . The President defeated Neves , a 54-year-old economist , who is a well-known name and a career politician . His campaign slogan promised reforms to lower inflation and encourage more investment in the country : `` The sure path for Brazil to really change . '' The pro-business candidate belongs to the Brazilian Social Democratic Party , one of the country 's strongest . Shasta Darlington reported from Sao Paulo . Dana Ford reported and wrote from Atlanta . CNN 's Catherine E. Shoichet also contributed to this report .
With more than 99 % of votes counted , Dilma Rousseff had 51.59 % of the vote . Opposition candidate Aecio Neves had 48.41 % . The election was one of the tightest competitions in recent years .