Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has disputed his country’s recent election results, which saw him lose to socialist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro admitted this on November 2 “the election is over” in a move seen by many as a sign of his intention to begin a transition of power to Lula after the country’s Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) ratified the results. However, he changed his tune on Wednesday amid concerns about some voting machines and blamed a software bug.
About the same as the former president trump whom Bolsonaro openly admires, he has argued that electronic voting machines are prone to fraud.
After an inspection of the results by his coalition, Bolsonaro said his party had found “signs of irreparable … malfunctions” in some of the machines. He did not provide any evidence even when ordered to do so by the election court.
His allies claimed to have found “signs of serious malfunctions that create uncertainty and make it impossible to confirm the results obtained” in the old models of voting machines. They have not yet provided any evidence for these claims.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro speaks from his official residence at the Alvarado Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022. It is the leader’s first public comments since losing the Oct. 30 presidential runoff.
(AP Photo/Eraldo Perez)
Lula won the election with 50.9% of the vote to Bolsonaro’s 49.1%, and the announcement will affect around 280,000 voting machines, according to the BBC. The result will swing to 51.05% for Bolsonaro and 48.95% for Lula if the affected votes are invalidated.
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The TSE told Bolsonaro’s coalition that they have 24 hours to submit an audit for both rounds of voting or the body will reject the party’s claims.
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is running for re-election, smiles before a presidential debate in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Oct. 28, 2022. Da Silva will face Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in the second round of the presidential election on Oct. 30. .
(AP Photo/Bruno Brado)
Glazey Hoffman, president of Lula’s party, called Bolsonaro’s complaint nothing more than a “hiccup.”
“No more delays, irresponsibility, insults to institutions and democracy,” she wrote on Twitter. “The election was decided during the vote and Brazil needs peace to build a better future.”
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Brazil’s Social Democratic Party called Bolsonaro’s complaint “nonsensical”, saying “institutions, the international community and Brazilian society” would resist attempts to challenge the results.
Demonstrators gather during a protest against Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, calling for his impeachment over his government’s handling of the pandemic and allegations of corruption in the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. Mr.
(AP Photo/Andre Penner)
The Associated Press reported that the error in question was not previously known. One expert, Wilson Ruggiero, a professor of computer engineering and digital systems at the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo, told the agency that each voting machine can still be easily identified in other ways, such as its city and electoral district.
President Biden and other international leaders publicly conceded victory to Silva, as did some of Bolsonaro’s closest allies.
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In addition to cabinet members’ worldwide acclaim for Lula’s victory, governor-elects and evangelical leaders who have been staunch supporters of Bolsonaro have already offered admittance to the new left-wing government.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
