President Lula accuses Brazil’s electoral court of bias — The Rio Times

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said that the country’s Superior Electoral Court had made many biased decisions. He said this on October 11 in São Paulo ahead of the March for Democracy on Avenida Paulista, two weeks before the second round of the presidential election on October 25, The Rio Times reports.

Lula’s statements about the court

Lula told journalists that he would not accept improper interference by electoral justice bodies. According to him, the head of the electoral court must act in a civilized and republican manner and allow the election to take place without interference.

The president also said that his lawyers would ask the court’s head for explanations. He added that the Workers’ Party planned to petition the court that day regarding audience reach on social media. Whether this petition had been filed was not confirmed as of the evening of October 11.

Decision on the WhatsApp channel

Lula’s statements came after a decision by the head of the Superior Electoral Court, Cássio Nunes Marques, to suspend the WhatsApp channel “Lula’s Army.” The channel was created by the president’s ally, federal deputy André Janones; according to Poder360, it had about 3.3 million subscribers.

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Later that day, the court’s inspector general, Ricardo Villas Bôas Cueva, overturned the decision to suspend the channel, state agency Agência Brasil reported. Nunes Marques is a justice of Brazil’s Supreme Court, appointed in 2020 by then-president Jair Bolsonaro.

March in São Paulo

According to Agência Brasil, thousands of people took part in the march on Avenida Paulista, though no official estimate of the crowd size was released. Lula spoke from a sound truck near the São Paulo Museum of Art.

In the second round of the election, Lula will face Rio de Janeiro senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former president Jair Bolsonaro.