Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro refused to concede the Brazilian Presidential elections to leftist candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a speech Tuesday.
Following national outrage after Sunday’s election, Bolsonaro thanked his voters for their support but did not cede the election, BBC reported. Despite not mentioning the results directly, Bolsonaro’s chief of staff, Ciro Nogueira, told reporters that they would begin the “process of transition” of power, a statement which Brazil’s Supreme Court said signified Bolsonaro acknowledging the election’s outcome, according to the outlet.
Although Bolsonaro did not acknowledge the results during his speech, he said that he intends to follow the rules of the constitution, the New York Post noted. “I have always been labeled as anti-democratic and, unlike my accusers, I have always played within the four lines of the constitution,” he said, according to the outlet. (RELATED: Lula Declared Winner Of Brazilian Presidential Election, Bolsonaro Yet To Concede)
Bolsonaro declines to concede Brazil defeat in first address since election https://t.co/mUtGq7o7DU pic.twitter.com/dmMV91XaDu
— New York Post (@nypost) November 1, 2022
Bolsonaro had been silent Monday following his apparent defeat to Lula by less than 2 points. Lula led Bolsanaro by around 2 million votes while nearly 4 million votes had been nullified, according to the Superior Electoral Court.
Truckers and protesters have blocked highways since Monday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in protest of the election results, CBS reported.
“Peaceful protests will always be welcome. But our methods must not be those of the left, which always harm the population, like invading property… and impeding the right to come and go,” Bolsonaro said about the protests Tuesday, the outlet noted.