Brazil’s far-right candidate challenges the election result after voting hours were extended over public transport disruptions.

Brazilian far-right presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro has rejected President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s reelection and vowed to seek the annulment of the vote, citing a Supreme Federal Court decision to extend voting hours amid allegations of disruptions to public transport.

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The Superior Electoral Court (TSE) confirmed Lula’s reelection on Sunday. Bolsonaro, however, declared the result unacceptable and announced plans to challenge it in court.

“It is impossible to recognize the election results,” Bolsonaro said. “We will turn to our legal team and request that these elections be annulled.”

Bolsonaro based his challenge on a ruling by Supreme Federal Court Justice Cristiano Zanin, who extended voting by two hours after the Workers’ Party (PT) reported alleged irregularities affecting voter transportation in several cities.

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The ruling came shortly before polls were due to close at 5 p.m. Zanin ordered polling stations nationwide to remain open until 7 p.m. Brasília time, citing the seriousness of the allegations and the urgency of the measure.

The PT accused mayors opposed to Lula of failing to comply with electoral court orders requiring municipalities to provide free public transport at full capacity on election day, as they would on a regular working day. The party also called for those responsible for the alleged violations to be caught in the act.

In Salvador, electoral authorities ordered the arrest of Pablo Souza, the city’s mobility secretary, over suspicions that he had withdrawn buses to disadvantage Lula. The northeastern city is governed by União Brasil, a center-right party allied with Bolsonaro. In the first round of the presidential election, Lula received 65% of the vote in Salvador, compared with 27% for Bolsonaro.

Brazilian trade union federations also denounced transport disruptions in several cities on election night and called for immediate action by the authorities.

In a statement, the unions condemned what they described as the deliberate obstruction of eligible voters’ right to participate in the election. They alleged that some cities had reduced their bus fleets despite a Supreme Federal Court order requiring public transport to operate at full capacity on election day.

The disruptions left thousands of people waiting at bus stops, uncertain whether they would reach polling stations in time. In some cases, the unions said, voters were unable to cast their ballots.

Bolsonaro’s campaign also sought an extension of voting hours, according to local media reports. His team requested additional time in cities across São Paulo, Paraná and Santa Catarina states, citing difficulties caused by heavy rainfall.

The dispute recalls the aftermath of the October 2022 presidential election, when Lula defeated Flávio Bolsonaro’s father, Jair Bolsonaro. The former president repeatedly challenged the result and conspired to overturn it.

On Jan. 8, 2023, thousands of his radicalized supporters stormed the Congress, presidential palace and Supreme Federal Court buildings in Brasília. Jair Bolsonaro was subsequently tried and is now serving a 27-year prison sentence for conspiring against Brazil’s democratic order and attempting a coup.

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