Brasilia, Oct. 26 (LaPresse) – The defeated presidential candidate in Brazil’s election, Flavio Bolsonaro, refuses to acknowledge his defeat to incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who beat him by nearly 4.4 million votes, following a chaotic delay in the closing of polling stations ordered by a Supreme Court judge. Both Bolsonaro and Lula had asked for polling stations to remain open longer due to public transport problems and bad weather in some parts of Brazil. The decision to extend voting hours came three minutes before the scheduled closing time; some polling stations received the notification after they had already closed, and it is unclear how many votes were cast during the extension. Bolsonaro described the decision to extend voting as unprecedented and called for the election results to be annulled. “It is impossible to recognize the election result,” he said, adding that his legal team would seek to have the election annulled. Bolsonaro – whose father is serving a 27-year prison sentence for attempting a coup after losing the 2022 presidential election to Lula – pointed out that Zanin had previously been Lula’s lawyer, criticizing him for having “changed the rules of the game while it was underway.” It is unclear whether Bolsonaro’s challenge can meet the legal requirements necessary to annul the results. Bolsonaro is also entitled to request a recount if he has evidence of fraud; however, this might not change the outcome. The president of the electoral court, Kassio Nunes Marques – appointed to the Supreme Court by former president Bolsonaro – said that the extension of voting hours had no impact on the results. Joao Pedro Padua, a law professor at Fluminense Federal University, explained that Bolsonaro can file a lawsuit directly with the country’s electoral authorities or the Supreme Court, asking for the election to be declared null and void. “However, there is no solid legal basis for such a request,” Padua said. “Although extending voting hours is an unusual circumstance, for this to invalidate the election, the candidate would have to demonstrate that the measure compromised voters’ ability to freely express their will. There appears to have been no such impact.”
Brazil, Bolsonaro calls for election annulment: “Impossible to recognize result”
Brasilia, Oct. 26 (LaPresse) – The defeated presidential candidate in Brazil’s election, Flavio Bolsonaro, refuses to acknowledge his defeat to incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who beat him by nearly 4.4 million votes, following a chaotic delay in the closing of polling stations ordered by a Supreme Court judge. Both Bolsonaro and Lula had asked for polling stations to remain open longer due to public transport problems and bad weather in some parts of Brazil. The decision to extend voting hours came three minutes before the scheduled closing time; some polling stations received the notification after they had already closed, and it is unclear how many votes were cast during the extension. Bolsonaro described the decision to extend voting as unprecedented and called for the election results to be annulled. “It is impossible to recognize the election result,” he said, adding that his legal team would seek to have the election annulled. Bolsonaro – whose father is serving a 27-year prison sentence for attempting a coup after losing the 2022 presidential election to Lula – pointed out that Zanin had previously been Lula’s lawyer, criticizing him for having “changed the rules of the game while it was underway.” It is unclear whether Bolsonaro’s challenge can meet the legal requirements necessary to annul the results. Bolsonaro is also entitled to request a recount if he has evidence of fraud; however, this might not change the outcome. The president of the electoral court, Kassio Nunes Marques – appointed to the Supreme Court by former president Bolsonaro – said that the extension of voting hours had no impact on the results. Joao Pedro Padua, a law professor at Fluminense Federal University, explained that Bolsonaro can file a lawsuit directly with the country’s electoral authorities or the Supreme Court, asking for the election to be declared null and void. “However, there is no solid legal basis for such a request,” Padua said. “Although extending voting hours is an unusual circumstance, for this to invalidate the election, the candidate would have to demonstrate that the measure compromised voters’ ability to freely express their will. There appears to have been no such impact.”