BRASILIA, (Reuters) – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has challenged the election he lost last month to leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, arguing votes from some machines should be “invalidated” in a complaint that election authorities met with initial skepticism.
Bolsonaro’s claim seems unlikely to get far, as Lula’s victory has been ratified by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) and acknowledged by Brazil’s leading politicians and international allies. Still, it could fuel a small but committed protest movement that has so far refused to accept the result.
Alexandre de Moraes, the Supreme Court justice who currently leads the TSE, said in a ruling seen by Reuters that Bolsonaro’s right-wing electoral coalition, which filed the complaint, must present its full audit for both rounds of last month’s vote within 24 hours, or he would reject it.
Brazil’s currency deepened losses after news of the electoral complaint, closing 1.3% weaker against the U.S. dollar. The currency was already suffering from investor concerns about Lula’s spending plans and economic policymakers.
Fernando Bergallo, head of operations at FB Capital, was among many who said Bolsonaro’s bid to challenge the election results seemed unlikely to get far, but that it would add to “pessimism on top of everything we already have.”
