Brazil to BAN Bolsonaro From Running Again Until 2030 Over Rigged Election Claims

A majority of judges on the top election court in Brazil voted to ban former President Jair Bolsonaro from seeking office again until 2030 for making claims the court says were false about the country’s voting systems.

The seven-judge panel found the right-wing populist guilty of abuse of power for allegedly undermining the country’s democracy while in office. Bolsonaro was voted out of office in 2022 after losing the election to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by a narrow margin.

Bolsonaro is a close political ally of former U.S. President Donald Trump, who endorsed him in his reelection bid — earning him the nickname “Tropical Trump.” The Brazilian politician is being investigated in multiple criminal cases.

“It’s unfair to me, for God’s sake,” the politician told reporters on Thursday. “Show me something concrete that I did against democracy. I played within the bounds of the Constitution the whole time.”

If the ruling is upheld by the country’s Supreme Court, Bolsonaro would not be able to run for president until he is 75 and would be sidelined from politics for the remainder of the decade.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the trial lasted only a week and no witnesses were called to testify. The legal proceedings mostly included statements by the various justices and brief comments from Bolsonaro’s defense team.

Many of Bolsonaro’s supporters had hoped the former president would run again for political office. In the past, he has told news outlets of his desire to launch a Senatorial campaign for 2026.

Karina Kufa, Bolsonaro’s lawyer, announced that his team would appeal the decision within the electoral court before moving to Brazil’s Supreme Court.

The former army officer ascended to the presidency in 2018 after promising to reform the government and weed out corruption. However, his four-year term was riddled with controversy as he stoked culture-war tensions within the country and oversaw one of the deadliest Covid-19 outbreaks in the world.

After being voted out of office, Bolsonaro did not attend his successor’s inauguration and refused to participate in the ceremonial passing of the presidential sash, according to the Washington Post.

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