On October 26, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun presided over a regular press conference. AFP asked questions regarding the Brazilian elections. The Liberal Party candidate Flavio Bolsonaro demanded the annulment of the election results. Does China have any comments on this?
Regarding this, Guo Jia Kun stated, “The Chinese side respects the choice of the Brazilian people.”
In the second round of voting held on the 25th, incumbent president and labor party candidate Lula defeated freedom party candidate Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, to successfully secure re-election.
After the election results were announced, Flavio refused to admit his defeat, accusing serious violations during the voting process. He announced that he would take legal action to seek to annul the election results.
Under the circumstances of these events, we are impossible to admit the election results. Flavio said on the 25th evening in Brasília, Brazil, to reporters: "We will mobilize our legal team and demand that this election be invalidated."
On October 25, some parts of Brazil experienced heavy rainfall, floods, and disruptions to public transportation, affecting the ability of voters to cast their votes normally. Both Lula and Flavio’s campaigns requested an extension of voting time in the affected areas on that day.
Subsequently, Brazilian Federal Supreme Court judge Cristiano Zanin made a decision allowing some polling stations to extend their opening hours by two hours.
After losing the election, Flavio criticized that this decision changed the voting rules during the process, undermining fair competition. He also questioned the involvement of Janin, who had been Lu’s lawyer, in the electoral proceedings, suggesting there might be an issue of interest conflict.
However, the Brazilian electoral authorities explained that the decision to extend voting hours applies only to polling stations that are still open. This does not mean that closed polling stations can be reopened. There is currently no evidence indicating that the controversy is sufficient to change the election results.
Fraio's refusal to admit defeat also reminds people of his father, Jair Bero Soares, after the 2022 presidential elections. In that year, Jair Bero Soares also refused to admit defeat and questioned Brazil's electoral system. In January 2023, his supporters stormed into national institutions such as the Brazilian Congress, the presidential palace, and the Federal Supreme Court, causing a severe political crisis.
thereafter, Yair Bosonero was investigated by the judiciary for allegedly planning a coup and attempting to overturn the results of the 2022 presidential elections. He was sentenced to 27 years in prison.
Regarding the controversy over this election, the President of the Brazilian Supreme Electoral Court, Cássio Nunes Marques, stated that although the decision to extend voting time posed procedural difficulties, it did not change the final vote result. The electoral authorities have full confidence in the integrity of the election process.
Lula, in his speech after winning the election, stated that this victory means that the Brazilian people have rejected 'denialism and lies'.
Analysis suggests that Flávio’s refusal to accept the election results may lead Brazil back into political and legal disputes regarding the legitimacy of the elections.
