Bolsonaro to be investigated for ‘voter fraud’ claims : What you need to know

Picture Courtesy: The Guardian

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will be investigated for the claims his government made regarding ‘voter fraud’ in the country. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ruled on Wednesday, after Bolsonaro stepped up his claims, without evidence, that Brazil’s voting system is fraudulent.

Bolsonaro even insisted in his claims that there should not be any elections next year in the country until the issue of voter fraud is resolved. The Supreme court of Brazil said that Bolsonaro will face an investigation for slander and inciting criminal acts for his undocumented claims of massive vote fraud.

Electronic voting was introduced in Brazil in 1996, and since then Bolsonaro has criticized the system. He recently stepped up his attacks on electronic systems in favor of "printable and auditable" paper ballots for the October 2022 elections. As per the opinion polls, Bolsonaro is trailing behind his opponent, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the presidential race.

Bolsonaro was furious about Supreme Court’s investigation on Tuesday. He said to the reporters, "I'm going to continue exercising my right to freedom of expression, to criticize, to listen to, and above all answer to the will of the people.”

Last Thursday, he did a Facebook live during which he claimed that the elections of 2014 and 2018 were fraudulent. His win in 2018 should have come earlier, he said, rather than being pushed to runoff. Following that, on Sunday, many Bolsonaro supporters took on the streets to protest.