Brazil’s Liberal Party accepted Lula’s victory over Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro called the result “unacceptable” and threatened legal action.
Trump questioned the election, calling it potentially “rigged”.
The political party of Senator Flavio Bolsonaro has accepted Brazil’s presidential run-off results, in which Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated Bolsonaro despite the candidate’s call to annul the outcome.
Valdemar Costa Neto, head of Brazil’s right-wing Liberal Party, said on Monday that the party accepted the election result but still wanted answers about how the vote was conducted.
“We recognise the presidential election results,” Costa Neto said. “But we believe the issues raised need to be properly clarified,” Al Jazeera reported
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated far-right opponent Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday by more than 4.4 million votes. Bolsonaro has not formally conceded defeat and has questioned the validity of the election.
In a speech after the results, Bolsonaro called the outcome “unacceptable”, pointing to a last-minute extension of voting hours. He also vowed to challenge the result in court. “We will take legal action,” he told supporters. “I will request that these elections be annulled.”
Trump Thinks Elections Are ‘Rigged’
Bolsonaro received backing from several right-wing allies after his election defeat. US President Donald Trump, who has had a strained relationship with Lula, questioned the credibility of the vote and suggested it may have been manipulated.
“The elections have to be indisputable, and it looked very bad to me,” Trump told reporters on Monday. “It looked like another rigged election, frankly.”
However, Trump did not offer to intervene in Bolsonaro’s favour and said he “did not take sides” in the Brazilian election.
Bolsonaro Accused of Foul Play
Both candidates’ campaigns had asked for Sunday’s voting hours to be extended, but for different reasons.
Bolsonaro’s team said heavy rain had stopped some voters from reaching polling stations. Southern Brazil, a region where Bolsonaro has strong support, saw heavy rainfall on Sunday. In response, Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin approved a two-hour extension.
Voting was originally scheduled to end at 5 pm Brasilia time (20:00 GMT). Under Zanin’s order, polling stations that were still open could continue accepting votes until 7 pm (22:00 GMT).
Lula’s campaign also called for more voting time. It alleged that some cities had reduced public transport services on election day, making it harder for people to reach polling stations.
After his defeat, Bolsonaro accused the court of treating his supporters unfairly through its ruling. He questioned Justice Zanin’s role, pointing out that Lula had appointed him to the Supreme Court in 2023. Zanin had earlier worked as Lula’s personal lawyer.
“With a simple stroke of a pen, at the request of a former partner, [Zanin] changed the rules of the game mid-match,” Bolsonaro said in a speech on Sunday night.
Meanwhile, Brazilian newspaper Folha de S Paulo reported on Monday that Bolsonaro’s legal advisers and political allies had urged him to drop his attempt to overturn the result. The report said they pointed to Lula’s wide victory margin and the decision by the Supreme Court and election authorities to uphold the results.
