Brazil's Bolsonaro Challenges Runoff Vote Results: "Electronic Voting Machine Error"

Complaint Filed with Supreme Election Commission
Suspected Malfunction of Electronic Voting Machines
Claim of Victory if New Model Used

President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Bloomberg reported on the 22nd (local time) that the camp of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who lost in the runoff of last month's Brazilian presidential election, filed a complaint with the Supreme Electoral Court, claiming that the election results cannot be trusted.

According to the report, the right-wing coalition, including Bolsonaro's party, the Liberal Party (PL), submitted documents demanding the invalidation of the election results, stating that "signs of irreparable malfunction were found in some voting machines during the vote count." They argued that the electronic voting machines used in the election were old models rather than new ones, which led to improper identification of the voting results.

The Liberal Party claimed that if only the results counted by the new electronic voting machines were estimated, Bolsonaro would have won the election by surpassing the elected candidate Luiz In?cio Lula da Silva with 50.05% of the vote.

In response, the Supreme Electoral Court rebutted that the same model of electronic voting machines was used in both the first and runoff elections. Alexandre de Moraes, president of the Supreme Electoral Court, told major foreign media, "Documents supporting the claims, such as audit results related to the two elections, must be submitted within 24 hours," and warned that if the documents are not submitted, the objections will not be accepted and the case will be closed.

Major foreign media outlets predicted that Bolsonaro's camp's protest would not have a significant impact. This is because the Supreme Electoral Court has already approved the election results, and the international community is forming a consensus recognizing Lula as the president-elect.

However, concerns were expressed that such moves could provoke Bolsonaro supporters who are staging protests against the election results. Violent protests against the election results are still ongoing in various parts of Brazilian cities. Bolsonaro supporters, mainly truck drivers, have occupied roads and burned tires, causing traffic disruptions on 18 highways. The highway blockades delayed medical services and disrupted logistics deliveries, including agricultural products. The police stated that they have arrested and are investigating 49 people involved in illegal violent protests from the day of the runoff election until the 9th.

The value of Brazil's currency also sharply declined following the news of Bolsonaro's camp's refusal to accept the election results. On that day, the real-dollar exchange rate recorded 5.36 reals per dollar, a 1.5% decrease in value against the dollar.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.