Thousands of pro-Bolsonaro supporters demonstrate against electronic ballot voting system

“We want our votes printed! ” Several thousand demonstrators were gathered, Sunday 1er August, in Brazil to support President Jair Bolsonaro and protest against the electronic ballot voting system in force since 1996, journalists from Agence France-Presse (AFP) noted.

In Rio de Janeiro, around 3,000 people marched on the famous Copacabana Beach, most without masks and dressed in yellow and green, the colors of the Brazilian flag.

“What we want is that the votes can be recounted publicly, for more transparency, because there have already been suspicions of fraud”Ronaldo Calvalcante, 46, who was demonstrating in Rio told AFP.

Protesters gathered to demand a new voting system in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday August 1, 2021.

“The will of the people must prevail”, for Jair Bolsonaro

President Bolsonaro, who is aiming for re-election in 2022, is not calling for a return to voting by paper ballots, but the printing of a receipt after each vote on the electronic ballot box, so that the votes can be recounted physically.

For analysts, the far-right leader is trying to prepare the ground to challenge the result in case of defeat, like former US President Donald Trump, of whom he is a fervent admirer.

They were thousands of pro-Bolsonaro supporters on Paulista Avenue in Sao Paulo (Brazil), Sunday August 1.

President Bolsonaro did not take part directly in the demonstration which also brought together several thousand people in the morning in Brasilia, but he gave a speech via video conference, reiterating that he would not accept elections that were not “Clean and democratic”. He added that he would do “Everything you need” to require the printing of paper receipts for electronic voting.

In the afternoon, he also addressed the thousands of demonstrators gathered in Sao Paulo, the country’s largest metropolis. “The will of the people must prevail. I hope that after this event, it will be done in Brasilia ”, he said, an allusion to the vote scheduled for Thursday in committee in the Chamber of Deputies of a bill to institute the printing of paper receipts for electronic ballot boxes.

The crowd on the ministers' plaza in Brasilia (Brazil), Sunday August 1, 2021.

Allegations of fraud

Thursday, during his weekly direct on Facebook, the Head of State reported for more than two hours of his conviction of fraud during the last two presidential elections, notably estimating that he should have been elected in the first round in 2018. But he has not presented any evidence, while the Higher Electoral Court (TSE) ensures that the current system is completely transparent and has never been peppered with irregularities.

Three weeks ago, Mr. Bolsonaro had already aroused an outcry by sowing doubt on the realization of the 2022 poll. “Either we have clean elections in Brazil, or there will be no elections”, he said.

He had dealt with“Fool” TSE President Luis Roberto Barroso, who believes that printing paper receipts could instead expose the vote “To the risks of manipulation of the past”.

Last weekend, tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Brazil to demand the impeachment of President Bolsonaro, much criticized for his management of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has left more than 550,000 dead in the country.

The World with AFP