The head of Brazil’s electoral commission rejected a complaint from Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday. This is reported by Reuters news agency. The outgoing president lost the elections to opponent Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva three weeks ago and therefore wanted to have part of the votes cast declared invalid.
Bolsonaro’s party must also pay a fine of 23 million real (4.1 million euros). According to the judge presiding over the electoral council, Alexandre Moraes, the party has tried to undermine Brazil’s electoral system with the complaint. The case was forwarded to the Supreme Court by Moraes.
Bolsonaro filed the complaint yesterday, after which Moraes demanded that the outgoing president provide a comprehensive report on both the first and second rounds of elections within 24 hours. Otherwise, the electoral council would reject the complaint. According to Bolsonaro’s party, some old voting machines would have defects that would make the results of the elections unreliable. The votes cast on these machines should therefore be declared invalid.
However, the left-wing candidate Da Silva’s victory has already been ratified by the electoral council and recognized by key politicians in Brazil and international allies. However, Bolsonaro supporters are still protesting the loss of their candidate. The ruling may spark protests.
Read also: The Bolsonaristas dream of a coup