26.2 C
Accra
Friday, December 6, 2024
WorldJair Bolsonaro banned for contesting Brazilian presidential election for 8 years

Date:

Jair Bolsonaro banned for contesting Brazilian presidential election for 8 years

Brazil’s Supreme Electoral Court has delivered a 5-2 vote, barring former president Jair Bolsonaro from running for office for eight years.

The decision comes after Mr. Bolsonaro was found guilty of abusing his power during the previous presidential election campaign.

The accusations against Bolsonaro centered on his undermining of Brazilian democracy by making false claims about the vulnerability of electronic ballots to hacking and fraud. His lawyers are expected to appeal the verdict, arguing that his statements did not influence the election outcome.

The ban on Bolsonaro‘s candidacy is retroactive to October 2, 2022, the date of the presidential election. If the verdict stands, he will be ineligible to participate in the next presidential election in 2026.

However, he will have the opportunity to run again in 2030. Additionally, he will be barred from participating in the municipal elections scheduled for 2024 and 2028.

In response to the decision, Bolsonaro criticized it as a “stab in the back” and pledged to continue advancing right-wing politics in Brazil.

The case against Bolsonaro revolved around a speech he delivered while still serving as president in 2022. During this speech, he hosted foreign diplomats at his residence in Brasilia and falsely claimed that the electronic voting machines used in Brazil were susceptible to hacking and widespread fraud.

Mr Bolsonaro maintained that he “simply explained how elections work in Brazil” and did not criticise or attack the electoral system.

But the speech came amid a polarising presidential campaign which saw Mr Bolsonaro being challenged for the top job by his arch-rival, left-winger Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The bitterly fought election went into a run-off on 30 October and was won by an extremely narrow margin by Lula.

Mr Bolsonaro never publicly acknowledged his defeat and left Brazil for Florida two days before Lula was sworn in as president.

His supporters, who refused to accept the outcome of the election, stormed Brazil’s Congress, the presidential palace and the building housing the Supreme Court on 8 January.

[forminator_poll id="710479"]

Latest stories

GAPTE anticipates Bawumia’s electric buses will take over commercial transport system in 2025

Managing Director of the Greater Accra Passenger Transport Executive...

2024 Election: Important rules to remember on Dec. 7

Ghana has just two days more to decide the...

NPP, NDC charge into 2024 polls with mammoth rallies in Accra

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic...

Ghana’s Gross International Reserves improves to $7.92 billion – BoG

Ghana’s Gross International Reserves (GIR) saw an increase, climbing...

Related stories

Biden grants full pardon to son Hunter amid criminal sentencing

US President Joe Biden has granted a full and...

Court issues 2-year suspended death sentence to former Bank of China Chair for bribery, others

Former Bank of China chairman Liu Liange on Tuesday received...

Ghanaians among UN peacekeepers injured in Southern Lebanon attacks

The UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon has reported...

Russia denies Trump told Putin to restrain Ukraine war efforts

The Kremlin has rejected media reports suggesting that US...

More than 100 detained as protesters defy Amsterdam’s ban on protests

Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested in Amsterdam on...

Traffic jam erupts as cyclists from Zhengzhou to Kaifeng for dumplings

A social media trend that began as a lighthearted...

Adin Ross wins $1.6m on Trump election bet after public endorsement

American streamer and social media influencer Adin Ross scored...