Brazilian conservative Senator Flávio Bolsonaro declared on Sunday night that he finds it “impossible” to accept the results of the presidential runoff that day, which resulted in a narrow win for the incumbent socialist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro stated that his campaign team would be making a formal request to annul the election results, claiming that the “rules of the game were changed” during the election.
In the highly-anticipated presidential runoff election that took place in Brazil, Lula, the 80-year-old leader of the far-left Workers’ Party (PT), secured his reelection, winning with 51.79 percent of the vote against Bolsonaro’s 48.21 percent, according to the official results from the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE).
Lula’s victory is notable since he had previously lost to Bolsonaro in the first round back on October 4. Reports indicated that the election day proceeded without any major incidents, but a controversy erupted shortly after when Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) Justice Cristiano Zanin made an unprecedented ruling that extended voting hours by two hours, causing some voting stations to remain open until 7:00 p.m. local time, instead of the usual 5:00 p.m. mandated by electoral laws.
In addressing his supporters later that night, Sen. Bolsonaro expressed his refusal to acknowledge the election results, labeling them as “unacceptable.” He highlighted Justice Zanin’s ruling, noting that Zanin was Lula’s former lawyer, and criticized the decision to alter the rules of the election “with the stroke of a pen, at the request of an ex-partner.”
Justice Zanin’s extension of voting hours was made in response to a request from Lula’s campaign, which claimed that a shortage of buses had caused transportation difficulties for voters in northeastern Brazil, a region considered a stronghold for Lula and the Workers’ Party.
“There was a complete breakdown of equality among Brazilians from different cities and states. I’ll never know how many votes I might have received in a state where the polls weren’t reopened. It’s inexplicable that what happened actually happened,” Bolsonaro remarked.
“It is impossible to recognize the results of the elections in this context; we will be requesting an annulment,” he added emphatically.
As of Monday morning, Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party (PL) had yet to submit a formal annulment request. According to unnamed sources cited by Jovem Pan, the TSE ministers believe the election is “decided” despite the controversies surrounding how the voting extension was managed.
Sources reportedly suggested that while annulling the election might have been an “appropriate solution” in light of the extended voting hours, it should have been done before the results were counted after 7:00 p.m., as prior knowledge of the results could influence the outcome of a potential “third round” election.
These sources also noted that the Supreme Court’s order could potentially undermine the TSE’s authority over electoral matters.
Additionally, other factors that could weigh against the possibility of annulling the election were mentioned, including the significant vote difference between candidates, the fact that the Bolsonaro campaign had also sought a vote extension, and the agreement of TSE president Kassio Nunes Marques with Justice Zanin’s order, along with the “risk of a new institutional crisis.”
“Behind the scenes, however, TSE ministers are also criticizing Nunes Marques’ actions. They argue that his delay in addressing requests to extend election hours created a situation where STF intervention became possible in a matter directly related to organizing the elections,” noted Jovem Pan.
At that moment, Brazilian news was reporting that Lula’s victory had caused a temporary halt in stock exchange trading due to significant selloffs, which ultimately led to a 16 percent drop. Moreover, the Brazilian real saw steep declines, plunging 12 percent against the U.S. dollar and over 10 percent against the euro as trading resumed. Analysts noted that markets had previously expected Flavio Bolsonaro to narrowly defeat Lula, contributing to the reaction.
“Flávio Bolsonaro had a policy focused on spending restraint and fiscal improvement. Many market players had positioned themselves in anticipation of this victory, and now, with the unexpected reversal, there’s uncertainty regarding the economic policies that will be pursued under Lula’s administration,” said Brazilian economist Juliano Lara Fernandes.
