untitled design

Brazil presidential election: Fears of riots worse than US Capitol

Brazil is at risk of experiencing incidents much more serious than the January 6, 2021 attack on the federal Capitol in Washington that shook the US, the head of the Supreme Electoral Court, Edson Faquin, warned on Wednesday ahead of the October presidential election.

He made the comments as opinion polls insist Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro remains a long distance from his centre-left predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Since last year, Mr. Bolsonaro, nostalgic for the era of military dictatorship, has repeatedly threatened that he might not accept defeat in the Oct. 2 presidential election. He tried – unsuccessfully – to push for a revision of the Constitution to change the voting method, to be conducted by paper ballots, not electronically. It is alleged, despite repeated categorical denials by the electoral authorities, that fraud was committed in previous elections through the electronic system.

“We may experience an episode even more serious than those of January 6 (2021) on Capitol Hill,” Mr. Fakin pointed out during an event at the Wilson Center in Washington.

The president of the Supreme Electoral Court also warned that he will not tolerate any “interference” in the electoral process. The participation of the armed forces in this should be done in a spirit of cooperation and not interference in political matters, he insisted.

Earlier this year, the Electoral Court created a transparency committee, which includes representatives of various state institutions – including the armed forces – to guarantee the security of the electoral process.

Although officially the leadership of the Brazilian armed forces has repeatedly assured that the result of the election will be respected whatever it is, some officers have made headlines by echoing Mr Bolsonaro’s claims of weaknesses in the voting system and possible fraud.

“Obviously we are not going to accept such things. Cooperation yes, interventions never,” Mr Fakin stressed in his speech.

SOURCE: APE-ME

Source: Capital

You may also like

Get the latest

Stay Informed: Get the Latest Updates and Insights

 

Most popular