President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday again questioned the legitimacy of Brazil’s electoral system ahead of the second round of October 30 elections, where he will face leftist ex-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who defeated him in the first round.
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Mr Bolsonaro urged voters to stay “in the area” of the constituency they are voting in “until the result is known”.
“The result will be what we all hope for because the other side (the left) cannot bring anyone together. We are suspicious,” Bolsonaro said at a rally in front of his supporters in Pelotas in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.
In the first round, the outgoing far-right president received 43.2% of the vote, behind Lula, who is the favorite with 48.4% of the vote for the second round of the presidential election.
“How can this guy (Lula) have so many votes if the people are not on his side,” Mr Bolsonaro further commented.
During the campaign, the far-right leader repeatedly raised the possibility of “fraud” over the electronic ballot box without any evidence and threatened not to honor the results if he lost the election.
However, he moderated his speech on the home stretch before the first half of the season on October 2nd.
International organizations and experts played the role of observers in these elections, which also renewed the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.
A mission from the Organization of American States (OAS) said the voting “taken place normally and in good order,” according to the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) of Brazil.