Brazil Poll Conducted Per Law, Electoral Court Chief Affirms

Brazil's top electoral judge has said the 2026 national elections were carried out in line with the law and the constitution.

Cassio Nunes Marques, president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), made the remarks in a statement published on the court's website on Wednesday, local time. He said the polls were held across the full electoral justice framework and that citizens exercised their right to vote.

Nunes Marques conceded that voting faced a minor interruption in its final hours. He said measures introduced by the court, along with the professionalism of its technical staff, ensured that the counting of votes proceeded without major problems and that the elections concluded safely. He also said all legal objections would be investigated and addressed.

The statement was issued after Senator Flavio Bolsonaro publicly alleged electoral fraud in an open letter. Bolsonaro was beaten in Sunday's presidential runoff by incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Bolsonaro accused the Supreme Federal Court (STF) of breaching the TSE's jurisdiction by extending voting hours by two hours. According to him, the extension was ordered after the official closing time, which led to unequal treatment of voters.

He also faulted the TSE for defending the extension without providing a convincing or credible answer.

On Sunday, the campaign teams of both presidential contenders said voters had trouble getting to polling stations. The STF then extended voting until 7 p.m. (2200 GMT), applying the order only to stations that had been open until 5 p.m. Stations already closed were not reopened.

Lula won the runoff by more than 4 million votes. Brazilian media reported that only 34,300 votes were recorded after the scheduled 5 p.m. closing, far fewer than the margin of victory.

US media reports said Bolsonaro and his family reached Miami, Florida, on Wednesday morning. The flight reportedly left Argentina, stopped in Ecuador, and then landed in the US city.

Before leaving Brazil, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes had ordered Bolsonaro to surrender his passport to federal police and banned him from leaving the country. Brazilian media say the order is part of an investigation involving Bolsonaro and lawyer Vilar Tomaz, who are suspected of money laundering and illegal foreign currency transactions.