Flávio Bolsonaro refuses to concede, vows to seek annulment of Brazil election

Defeated candidate Flávio Bolsonaro is refusing to accept the result of Brazil's presidential election. It was "impossible" to recognize the outcome, the right-wing senator said on Sunday night. His legal team would seek to annul the election. "I will not give up on my Brazil," he said. According to the ANI news agency, citing Brasil de Fato, he presented no evidence. No documents have been made public to support his claim that monitors from his Liberal Party (PL) were removed from the secure counting room, according to Latin Times.

At the center of the dispute is a ruling by Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin. He extended voting nationwide by two hours until 7 p.m. local time; the order was published three minutes after the regular 5 p.m. close. Both camps had requested extensions: Lula's coalition over public transport problems, Bolsonaro's camp for 17 municipalities in São Paulo, Paraná and Santa Catarina. Bolsonaro complains that polling stations that had already locked their ballot boxes were not reopened. His allies point out that Zanin was once Lula's criminal defense lawyer. An annulment requires documented proof that an irregularity materially affected the count, according to Latin Times.

Congratulations for Lula came from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum ("Long live democracy"), Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz and Paraguayan President Santiago Peña, among others. In the U.S., Sen. Bernie Sanders congratulated him; Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna wrote that people around the world were fighting back against extremism. Donald Trump Jr., by contrast, criticized the extension: if a conservative government in Brazil had done this, the U.S. press would "lose their minds." Bolsonaro's father Jair also refused to accept his 2022 defeat by Lula; he has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for plotting a coup.