Bolsonaro fails to concede defeat in first speech since Brazil election result

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro did not concede the election he lost to leftist Lula da Silva in a brief speech on Tuesday that marked his first comments since results were released two days ago.

But afterwards, Chief of Staff Ciro Nogueira told reporters that Mr Bolsonaro has authorised him to begin the transition process.

Mr Bolsonaro’s address did not mention election results, but he said he will continue to follow the rules of the nation’s constitution.

“I have always been labelled as anti-democratic and, unlike my accusers, I have always played within the four lines of the constitution,” Mr Bolsonaro, flanked by more than a dozen ministers and allies, told reporters in the official residence in the capital Brasilia.

Mr Bolsonaro lost Sunday’s race by a thin margin, garnering 49.1% of the vote to Mr da Silva’s 50.9%, according to the nation’s electoral authority. It was the tightest presidential race since Brazil’s return to democracy in 1985 and marks the first time Mr Bolsonaro has lost an election in his 34-year political career, including seven races for a seat in Congress’s Lower House.

Much like former US President Donald Trump, whom Mr Bolsonaro openly admires, the far-right incumbent has repeatedly questioned the reliability of the country’s electoral system, claiming electronic voting machines are prone to fraud.

He never provided any proof, even when ordered to do so by the electoral court.

That has led many political analysts to warn that Mr Bolsonaro appeared to be laying the groundwork to reject the election results.

In recent days, and without a public statement from Mr Bolsonaro, truck drivers and other supporters blocked hundreds of roads across the country.

Many said the election had been fraudulent and some called for military intervention and for Congress and the Supreme Court to be disbanded.