No fraud in election found, Brazil’s military says

RIO DE JANEIRO — A much-awaited report from the Brazilian military highlighted flaws in the country’s electoral systems and proposed improvements, but it did not substantiate allegations of fraud from some of President Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters, who continue to protest against his Oct. 30 defeat.

Many political analysts said Wednesday’s report should curtail any serious attempt to discredit the electoral process.

“This was a bucket of cold water for those who still dreamt that the report could escalate the crisis,” said Carlos Melo, a professor in political science at Insper University in Sao Paulo. “How can protestors talk of fraud if their own agent, which they see as a superior authority, says that there is no proof?”

Bolsonaro, whose less than 2-point loss to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was the narrowest margin since Brazil’s 1985 return to democracy, hasn’t cried foul since the election.

Still, his continued refusal to concede defeat or congratulate his opponent left room for supporters to draw their own conclusions. That followed more than a year of Bolsonaro saying that Brazil’s electronic voting system is prone to fraud, without presenting any evidence.

And analysts noted that the armed forces, which have been a key component of Bolsonaro’s administration, appeared cautious not to displease the president.

In a second statement Thursday, the Defense Ministry stressed that while it had not found any evidence of fraud in the vote counting, it could not exclude that possibility.

It is the first time the military has spoken on the runoff election, which has brought pro-bolsonaro protests nationwide even as the transition has begun for da Silva’s inauguration Jan. 1.