Bolsonaro's political hopes wither as key judge votes to bar him from office

[Judi Lynn]

Wednesday, 28 Jun 2023 11:55 AM MYT

BRASILIA, June 28 — Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was staring into the political abyss yesterday when a federal electoral court (TSE) justice voted to bar him from office until 2030 for anti-democratic abuse of power during last year’s fraught election.

The vote by Benedito Goncalves, the lead justice in the case against Bolsonaro, does not amount to a full conviction, but may set the tone for subsequent judge’s votes.

The outlook appears increasingly bleak for Bolsonaro, a career politician who was until recently Brazil’s most powerful man. The far-right nationalist narrowly lost Brazil’s most troubled election in a generation to his leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and now faces an institutional reckoning for having forged a nationwide election denial movement.

Bolsonaro stands accused of abusing his power when he summoned ambassadors last year and vented unfounded claims about the security of Brazil’s electronic voting system, one of a series of attacks that critics say were aimed at diminishing voters’ faith in the vote.

More:
https://www.malaymail.com/news/world/2023/06/28/bolsonaros-political-hopes-wither-as-key-judge-votes-to-bar-him-from-office/76837

[Judi Lynn]

1. Brazil judge votes to bar Bolsonaro from office for 8 years

Online News Editor
June 27, 2023
1 minute read

Brasilia, June 27 (EFE).- A key judge on Tuesday voted in favor of barring former Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro from public office for eight years for abuse of political power.

In the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), lead judge Benedito Gonçalves found Bolsonaro guilty of abuse of power and misuse of the media, saying he used his then-position as head of state “to degrade the electoral environment” and fabricate “conspiracy theories” with “false information” and “lies.”

With the first vote in favor of the disqualification of Bolsonaro, the trial was suspended and will resume on Thursday with the votes of the TSE’s six other magistrates who will define the future of the far-right nationalist politician.

The central point of the case is a meeting to which Bolsonaro summoned 50 foreign ambassadors at his official presidential residence on July 18, 2022, to undermine the security of the electoral system and accuse justice of maneuvering in favor of now-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

More:
https://www.laprensalatina.com/brazil-judge-votes-to-bar-bolsonaro-from-office-for-8-years/