According to Reuters and AP reports on October 25 local time, in the second round of voting for the Brazilian presidential election that day, the current president and Labor Party candidate Dilma Rousseff defeated the Liberal Party candidate, Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Rousseff successfully won re-election and will begin her fourth presidential term.
However, after the election results were announced, Flavio refused to accept his defeat, accused serious violations during the voting process, and announced that he would take legal action to seek to overturn the election results.
"Under these circumstances, we are impossible to acknowledge the election results." Fabrizio said on the evening of August 25th in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, in response to reporters. "We will mobilize our legal team and demand that this election be declared invalid."
It is worth noting that Flávio’s campaign team also requested an extension of voting time on the same day. According to Brazilian media reports, his team submitted a request to the Supreme Electoral Court at 3:50 PM on the 25th, asking for a two-hour extension of voting times in 19 cities affected by heavy rain and flooding.
However, after the Supreme Court decided to extend the national voting time until 7 p.m., and after Flaviò lost the election, he refused to acknowledge the results on the grounds that this decision undermined the fairness of the election. He also announced his intention to seek a reversal of these election results.
The focal point of this controversy is the decision by Brazil's judicial authorities to extend voting station opening hours on election day.
According to Brazilian media reports, on October 25, some regions in Brazil experienced heavy rainfall, floods, and disruptions to public transportation, affecting the ability of voters to cast their ballots. Both Lula and Flavio’s campaigns requested an extension of voting time for the affected areas on that day.
subsequently, Judge Cristiano Zanin of the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court 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 and undermined fair competition. He also questioned the involvement of Zanin, who was Lu’s lawyer, in the electoral process, suggesting there might be an issue of conflict of interest.
However, the Brazilian electoral authorities explained that the decision to extend voting hours only applies 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 related disputes would have any impact on the election results.
According to the results announced by the Brazilian electoral authorities, Lula received approximately 51.8% of the valid votes, while Flavio obtained about 48.2%. The difference in votes between the two parties was approximately 4.4 million.
In the first round of voting held on October 4th, Flavio led with 47.03% of the votes, surpassing Lula who received 45.16%. However, in the second round of voting, Lula managed to overtake Flavio and became the first politician in Brazilian history to win the presidential election four times.
Flavio's refusal to admit defeat also reminds people of his father, Jair Bolsonaro, during the 2022 presidential elections. In that year, after Bolsonaro lost to Lula, he also refused to admit defeat and questioned Brazil's electoral system. In January 2023, his supporters attacked national institutions such as the Brazilian Congress, the presidential palace, and the Federal Supreme Court, sparking a serious political crisis.
thereafter, Jair Bolsonaro 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 this election controversy, Cabio Nunes Max, President of the Brazilian Supreme Electoral Court, stated that although the decision to extend voting time caused procedural difficulties, it did not change the final voting results. 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 over the legitimacy of the elections.
