The top electoral court in Brazil barred the country's former president Jair Bolsonaro from politics until 2030 over his comments about the voting system.
The seven-judge Superior Electoral Tribunal ruled 5-2 that the 68-year-old Bolsonaro abused his office and state media in making the allegations. The decision means that Bolsonaro cannot run for the presidency in 2026, though his lawyers have said they will appeal.
The court secured a majority to politically incapacitate the 68-year-old right-winger for three elections, including the 2026 presidential elections. With four out of seven votes, court judges acknowledged that Bolsonaro had abused his political power and exploited the media to undermine confidence in Brazil's electronic voting system.
The trial, presided over by TSE President Alexandre de Moraes, commenced on June 22 last week.
The charges arise from a televised address that took place at the Alvorada Palace, attended by a dozen foreign diplomats. During the address, Bolsonaro made unfounded allegations regarding Brazil's electronic voting system in the lead-up to his democratic competition with current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in October 2022.
The lawsuit, initiated by The Democratic Labour Party (PDT), accuses Bolsonaro of attempting to undermine democracy in Brazil and seeking to undermine Lula's victory in the presidential elections held last October.
During the trial, the TSE presented a draft decree that was discovered in the residence of Anderson Torres, former Minister of Justice, during a raid conducted by the federal police in January. The document, labeled as an attempt to subvert the October 2022 election result, was included as evidence in the proceedings.
According to the federal police, the document aimed to seize control of the TSE offices after Lula's victory and overturn the outcome of the election.
