Thousands of Bolsonaro supporters protested Brazil’s electoral system

Thousands of people demonstrated on Sunday in Brazil in support of President Jair Bolsonaro and Protesting the electronic voting system in place since 1996.

In Rio de Janeiro, about 3,000 people walked on Copacabana Beach, most without masks and wearing yellow and green, the colors of the Brazilian flag.

“What we want is a public recount, to have more transparency, because there were already suspicions of fraud.“Ronaldo Calvalcante, 46, who was demonstrating in Rio, told AFP.

President Bolsonaro, who is seeking re-election in 2022, does not ask for ballot papers to be returned, but rather prints a receipt after each vote in the electronic ballot box, so they can be physically counted.

for analysts, What the far-right leader does is pave the way for challenging the outcome in the event of defeat, as former US President Donald Trump did.Bolsonaro is one of his biggest fans.

The president did not directly participate in the demonstration, which also gathered several thousand people in Brasilia, but gave a video speech in which he reiterated the following: They will not accept elections that were not “fair and democratic”.

He added that he would do “whatever is necessary” to force the printing of paper receipts for electronic voting.

In the afternoon, he also addressed the thousands of protesters gathered in São Paulo, the country’s largest city.

“The will of the people must prevail. I hope this becomes a reality in Brasilia after this show.”He announced in reference to the vote scheduled for Thursday in a legislative committee on a bill that seeks to approve the printing of paper receipts via electronic ballot boxes.

fraud

The head of state, Thursday, during his weekly broadcast on Facebook, spoke for more than two hours about his conviction that there was fraud in the last presidential elections twice, noting that he should have won the first round in 2018.

But No evidence was provided for these tricksWhile the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) ensures that the current system is completely transparent and unaffected by irregularities.

Three weeks ago, Bolsonaro already stirred controversy when he raised doubts about holding the 2022 elections.”Either we will have proper elections in Brazil, or there will be no elections“, He said.

The president of TSE, Luis Roberto Barroso, called him a “moron” and estimated that printing paper receipts could expose the vote to “the risks of manipulating the past”.

“Electronic voting is stealing! Voting with printed receipts is not complicated, people will adaptSaid Roxana Guimarães, a 45-year-old nurse, at a demonstration on Sunday.

Last weekend, tens of thousands demonstrated in Brazil to demand the removal of President Bolsonaro, who has been widely criticized for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has left more than 550,000 dead in the country.

(With information from AFP)

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