Outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil on Tuesday ‘authorised’ the transition to a new government based on constitutional provisions, he, however, declined to acknowledge his defeat to leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The 67-year-old Bolsonaro, opened up after two days of silence following his razor-thin loss to Lula last weekend, which had sparked protests from his supporters across the country and fanned fears he would not accept the outcome.
In a speech that lasted just over two minutes, the far-right incumbent neither acknowledged defeat, nor congratulated Lula on his victory.
Bolsonaro started by thanking the 58 million Brazilians who voted for him, before commenting that the roadblocks erected by his supporters across the country were “the fruit of indignation and a feeling of injustice at how the electoral process took place.”
‘Peaceful protests will always be welcome,’ he said, adding that people should not be impeded from coming and going.
‘As president of the Republic and a citizen I will continue to comply with our constitution,’ he said, before handing the podium to his chief of staff Ciro Noguiera, who said Bolsonaro had ‘authorised’ the ‘start of the transition’ process.
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Lula’s Workers’ Party announced Tuesday that his vice-president-elect Geraldo Alckmin would lead the transition process which would begin on Thursday. Lula will be inaugurated for his third term as president on January 1.
Bolsonaro’s appearance, however succinct, capped two days of tensions over how he would respond to such a narrow loss after months of alleging fraud in the electoral system.
“Anyplace else in the world, the defeated president would have called me to recognize his defeat,” Lula said in his victory speech to a euphoric sea of red-clad supporters in Sao Paulo on Sunday night.
Bolsonaro remained silent even as key allies publicly recognized his loss, including the powerful speaker of the lower house of Congress, Arthur Lira.
Federal Highway Police (PRF) on Tuesday reported more than 250 total or partial road blockages in at least 23 states by Bolsonaro supporters, which they were attempting to disperse, in some cases firing teargas at demonstrators.
Africa Today News, New York gathered that protesters wearing the yellow and green of the Brazilian flag, which the outgoing president has adopted as his own, said they would not accept the outcome of the election.