Brazilian supreme court justice Cristiano Zanin has just ordered voting in the country’s presidential runoff on Sunday to be extended by two hours, granting a request from Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s campaign.
asserted
voting → order → campaign
Polls were initially set to close at 5pm Brasília time.
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Polls → set → pm
Lula’s campaign alleged that authorities in several cities were restricting voter access to public transportation.
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authorities → allege → transportation
The decision follows allegations of attempted voter suppression in at least 10 states, where public transport appears to have been severely limited in what some suspect was a deliberate ploy to stop Lula voters reaching polling stations.
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voters → follow → stations
Earlier, Lula told reporters he had never before complained about elections he had been involved in, irrespective of whether he had won or lost.
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he → tell → elections
“But this time something abominable is happening.”
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something → happen → ?
However, some polling stations may have already closed since the decision came so shortly after they were due to close.
uncertain
they → close → ?
People should now be able to vote until 7pm.
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People → vote → pm
Meanwhile, hundreds of Lula supporters have camped out on Paulista Avenue to watch the vote count, which started at 7pm local time.
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which → camp → pm
Among them is Camilo Buarque, 35, who came with a bright red banner reading: “Lula: My President”.
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who → come → Lula
“I feel so very happy being here and being here fighting for Lula,” Buarque says, predicting his leader will beat Bolsonaro.
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leader → feel → Bolsonaro
“My confidence comes from the energy and the happiness and the love of these people [around me].
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confidence → come → me
This is democracy,” Buarque says as the first results come in, giving Lula the lead.
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results → say → lead
Fireworks exploded in the air above him as the crowd celebrated the early lead.
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crowd → explode → lead
João Felipe, a 27-year-old logistics worker, is also there waiting for what he hopes will be a huge Lula party.
“I’ve always been poor and Lula was a very important person when it came to helping people improve their lives,” he says.
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he → wait → lives
“Lula is going to turn this election around.
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Lula → go → election
Long live democracy,” Felipe predicts.
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Felipe → live → ?
“My heart is beating a thousand beats a second but I’m confident,” said his partner, Ester Almeida, 28.
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partner → beat → beats
Flávio Bolsonaro is following the count from the mansion of one of his campaign coordinators in a wealthy area of the capital, Brasília.
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Bolsonaro → follow → capital
The dozens of journalists present are being kept separate from Bolsonaro and allied politicians, but from time to time they can hear bursts of celebration – like after a goal – whenever the count is updated and Bolsonaro narrows the gap with Lula.
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Bolsonaro → keep → Lula
When, with 13.65% of the vote counted, Flávio moved just slightly ahead with 50.01%, an AI-generated funk track began playing loudly and the senator’s guests started chanting a line commonly heard in Brazilian football stadiums: “Go at him, Flávio.
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guests → count → him
And just like that, the race is already tightening further.
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race → tighten → that
Bolsonaro now has 50.01% of the vote, while Lula has 49.99% of the vote with just over 13.5% of ballots counted.
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Lula → have → ballots
With five per cent of votes counted Lula has taken an early lead with 51% of votes to Bolsonaro’s 48.87%.
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Lula → count → %
This is going to be a tight race and a very long night.
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This → go → ?
One of the most popular figures in Flávio Bolsonaro’s party, congressman Nikolas Ferreira, indicated that the far right could use the extension of voting hours as grounds to challenge the election result in the event of a victory by president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
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right → indicate → Silva
Speaking to journalists outside the mansion in Brasília where Bolsonaro was due to follow the count, Ferreira said that “the only person harmed” by the extension was the senator – without, however, mentioning the voters who, as reports throughout the day showed, had been unable to vote because they had no transport.
“The extension only helps whoever is losing,” said the 30-year-old politician who, in the first round, became the most-voted federal congressman in Brazilian history, with 3.1 million votes.
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who → speak → votes
He added that justice Cristiano Zanin “wanted to disrupt the election” by issuing the ruling.
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Zanin → add → ruling
Bolsonaro’s campaign chief, senator Rogério Marinho, echoed that line and called the justice’s ruling an “intervention”.
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chief → echo → ruling
“I sincerely hope common sense prevails and that any judicial coup or administrative manoeuvre does not succeed, for the sake of democracy,” he posted on social media.
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he → hope → media
Now two hours after the initial extension, polls have officially closed in Brazil (save for another surprise extension).
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polls → close → extension
Ballot count has begun.
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count → begin → ?
Although voting time was extended across the country, some polling stations had already closed by the time that decision was announced.
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decision → extend → time
As Brazil uses electronic voting machines, once they are closed, they cannot be re-
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they → use → machines
It’s not clear if certain polling stations had restrictions on if people who arrived after the initial deadline were allowed to vote, as rules usually stipulate that only people in line can still vote after the polls close.
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polls → ’ → line
The fact that ballot counting was already underway when the polls were suddenly ordered to remain open has led to some confusion and concerns about the integrity of the election results.
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polls → order → results
Battle over Meta’s alleged Bolsonaro bias intensified before presidential runoff
Tiago Rogero
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Battle → allege → runoff
Five days after his defeat in the first round of the Brazilian presidential election, leftwing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spent almost 24 hours unable to boost his Instagram posts, while his opponent, far-right senator Flávio Bolsonaro, could.
uncertain
opponent → spend → posts
Lula’s lawyers included the episode in a list of incidents that they submitted to the electoral court and international observers as “evidence” that Meta, Instagram’s owner, was actively trying to interfere in Brazil’s election in Bolsonaro’s favour.
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Meta → include → favour
Reports from Lula supporters saying their content had been removed or its reach restricted flooded social media in Brazil, while about a dozen watchdogs and research groups published reports describing what they called “indications” that Meta may have favoured the senator’s campaign.
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Meta → say → campaign
…and 85 more, not listed.
The Aporia
