Transition of power in Brazil
Former President Lula Decides Runoff Crime Thriller Against Incumbent Bolsonaro
In Brazil’s presidential election, left-wing former president Lula da Silva and right-wing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro are neck-and-neck. Two hours after polling, election officials confirmed the transfer of power.
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Regime change in Brazil: Former president Lula da Silva wins over incumbent Jair Bolsonaro.
Leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (77) narrowly won Brazil’s presidential election. About two hours after the polls closed for voting, Brazilian election officials announced Lula’s victory. With 99 percent of votes counted, the opposition leader had 50.83 percent and incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, 67, 49.17 percent. Around 77 percent voting was recorded. According to officials, reversing the result is mathematically impossible. On Twitter, Lula celebrated his return with a photo of one hand holding the Brazilian national flag — and one word: “democracy.”
Lula, a former unionist, ruled Latin America’s largest country of 210 million people from early 2003 until late 2010. He is Brazil’s first democratically elected president to serve a third term. Many of his followers associate Lula with Brazil’s Golden Age, when the economy lifted millions from abject poverty with the help of high commodity prices and social programs. However, Lula was responsible for his enemies, corruption and nepotism.
For months, the election campaign was marked by mutual accusations and misinformation spread on the Internet. Both the candidates fought for every vote till the end. President Bolsonaro has repeatedly cast doubt on the electoral system and indicated that he cannot recognize the result. Some of his supporters openly called for a military coup.
Disturbance of voters – Election monitoring activities
During the presidential election, the checkpoints set up by the traffic police created unrest and made it difficult to get to the polling stations. The head of the Supreme Electoral Court, Alexandre de Moraes, explained that the checks were delayed at roadblocks that delayed the departure of buses carrying voters on Sunday. However, in the meantime, these barriers have been ordered to be removed, in which vehicles violating traffic regulations were checked.
Traffic restrictions were tightened, particularly in the northeast of the country, which has strong support for left-wing opposition candidate Lula da Silva. Leaders of Lula’s Workers’ Party (PT) circulated online videos of buses stopping voters at checkpoints. “What is acceptable in the northeast is unacceptable,” said the former president, who narrowly held a lead over incumbent Bolsonaro in polls ahead of the runoff.
The chief election supervisor, Moraes, later assured that police restrictions only led to “delays” in voting. None of the buses were directed by the police to proceed to their respective destinations. Suffrage was not violated. Moraes therefore refused to extend the opening hours of the polls. (SDA/AFP/kes)
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