Jair Bolsonaro loses bid to overturn Brazil’s election result
Electoral court judge fines Bolsonaro allies $4.27m for ‘bad faith’ challenge
24 November 2022 - 20:49
byRicardo Brito
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Brasilia — The head of Brazil’s electoral court, Alexandre de Moraes, has rejected a complaint from President Jair Bolsonaro’s allies to challenge the presidential election, which the incumbent lost by a small margin, according to a court document.
Leftist former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva narrowly defeated Bolsonaro in the October 30 runoff election, marking a stunning comeback for the leftist former president and the end of Brazil’s most right-wing government in decades.
Lula da Silva’s margin of victory was by less than two percentage points.
Moraes, who serves as a Supreme Court justice, also fined the parties in Bolsonaro’s coalition to the tune of 22.9-million reais ($4.27m) for what the court described as bad faith litigation, the document showed.
On Tuesday, Bolsonaro's Liberal Party (PL) filed a complaint to challenge the outcome of the election claiming some of the electronic voting machines were flawed and those votes should be invalidated, an argument that election authorities met with scepticism.
Under the terms of Wednesday’s electoral court decision, political funds for the president's coalition parties were ordered blocked until the fine is paid. The ruling also ordered an investigation into any misuse of the party's structure and funds by PL head Valdemar da Costa Neto.
In the ruling, Moraes described the challenge as “offensive” to democratic norms, adding that it sought to encourage criminal and anti-democratic movements.
“The ballot boxes generate files that make it possible to identify precisely which equipment they were generated on. When one of these mechanisms stops working, others replace it, without affecting its traceability and the possibility of identifying ballot boxes,” according to the decision.
Election experts and political analysts blasted the election challenge from Bolsonaro allies as weak on the merits, though it could still fire up supporters who have been protesting his defeat at the polls.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Jair Bolsonaro loses bid to overturn Brazil’s election result
Electoral court judge fines Bolsonaro allies $4.27m for ‘bad faith’ challenge
Brasilia — The head of Brazil’s electoral court, Alexandre de Moraes, has rejected a complaint from President Jair Bolsonaro’s allies to challenge the presidential election, which the incumbent lost by a small margin, according to a court document.
Leftist former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva narrowly defeated Bolsonaro in the October 30 runoff election, marking a stunning comeback for the leftist former president and the end of Brazil’s most right-wing government in decades.
Lula da Silva’s margin of victory was by less than two percentage points.
Moraes, who serves as a Supreme Court justice, also fined the parties in Bolsonaro’s coalition to the tune of 22.9-million reais ($4.27m) for what the court described as bad faith litigation, the document showed.
On Tuesday, Bolsonaro's Liberal Party (PL) filed a complaint to challenge the outcome of the election claiming some of the electronic voting machines were flawed and those votes should be invalidated, an argument that election authorities met with scepticism.
Under the terms of Wednesday’s electoral court decision, political funds for the president's coalition parties were ordered blocked until the fine is paid. The ruling also ordered an investigation into any misuse of the party's structure and funds by PL head Valdemar da Costa Neto.
In the ruling, Moraes described the challenge as “offensive” to democratic norms, adding that it sought to encourage criminal and anti-democratic movements.
“The ballot boxes generate files that make it possible to identify precisely which equipment they were generated on. When one of these mechanisms stops working, others replace it, without affecting its traceability and the possibility of identifying ballot boxes,” according to the decision.
Election experts and political analysts blasted the election challenge from Bolsonaro allies as weak on the merits, though it could still fire up supporters who have been protesting his defeat at the polls.
Reuters
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