Brazil Top Justice Orders Bolsonaro Investigated for Fraud Claims - FARS

(FNA)- A Brazilian Supreme Court justice ruled that President Jair Bolsonaro should be investigated for making unproven claims that Brazil’s electronic voting system is riddled with fraud, adding the far-right leader to an ongoing probe on the spread of fake news by his government.

Wednesday’s ruling by Justice Alexandre de Moraes came after Bolsonaro stepped up his longtime attacks on Brazil’s voting system, claiming without evidence that it is marred by widespread fraud, Al-Jazeera reported.

Bolsonaro, who is under increasing pressure amid the COVID-19 pandemic and has seen a recent drop in popularity, has stated there will be no presidential elections next year as planned if the system is not overhauled.

He has spearheaded a push to have paper receipts printed after electronic ballots are cast in next year’s contest election, and thousands of his supporters rallied in cities across Brazil last weekend to support his demand.

But top judges and other experts in the South American nation have rejected Bolsonaro’s claims, saying the electronic voting system introduced in Brazil in 1996 is free of fraud.

Critics have accused the far-right leader of seeking to sow doubt ahead of the elections in order to be able to dispute the results. Recent polls show Bolsonaro trailing former left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is expected to challenge him at the ballot box.

Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court announced on Monday it would investigate the president for abuse of office, improper use of official communication channels, corruption, fraud and other potential crimes in his attacks on electronic voting.