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Jair Bolsonaro, a former army captain and far-right firebrand, repeatedly sought to undermine confidence in Brazil’s electoral system before the 2022 election, echoing tactics used by Trump in the U.S.
At the time, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency director, under former President Joe Biden, told the Bolsonaro administration to stop casting doubt on Brazil’s voting system.
Still, in the months before the 2022 vote, which Lula ultimately won, Bolsonaro had convened foreign diplomats to present unsubstantiated allegations that Brazil’s electronic voting system was vulnerable to fraud.
His campaign backfired. Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court, which oversees elections, later ruled that Bolsonaro had abused his position and barred him from seeking public office until 2030.
Bolsonaro was later convicted and sentenced to 27 years in prison for plotting to overturn the election result and remain in power. He is serving the sentence under house arrest.
Now, Flavio Bolsonaro has reignited doubts over the country’s electoral system, which have been spreading through social media.
Speaking at an event attended by dozens of diplomats last week, the senator urged foreign governments to send observers to monitor Brazil’s elections.
At the same event, the younger Bolsonaro claimed that Brazil’s electronic voting machines were produced by Smartmatic, the company that U.S. authorities have linked to electoral manipulation allegations in Venezuela.
Smartmatic and Brazil’s electoral court both told Reuters that no Brazilian voting machines were supplied by the company.
The senator said at the event and in a statement that he had not questioned “the integrity of Brazil’s voting system”.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)