Brazil court rejects challenge to election result by Bolsonaro party

BUENOS AIRES: Brazil’s Supreme Electoral Court has rejected a request by the party of outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro to review the results of last month’s elections. Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party (PL) had not presented any evidence to support its claim of alleged electoral fraud, said court president Alexandre de Moraes on Wednesday. He also imposed a fine of 23 million reais ($4.3m) on the petitioners, saying they had maliciously and irresponsibly wanted to trigger a legal dispute. Far-right incumbent Bolsonaro was narrowly defeated by left-wing challenger Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a October 30 run-off. Lula received 50.9 percent of votes while Bolsonaro garnered 49.1 percent. So far, Bolsonaro has not explicitly acknowledged his defeat, though Vice President Hamilton Mourão did a few days after the run-off. Mourão also said he believed there was no electoral fraud.