(Brasilia) Brazil’s Superior Electoral Tribunal announced on Monday the opening on June 22 of a trial against former President Jair Bolsonaro for abuse of political power and disinformation, which could make him ineligible for public office.
The judges will meet in plenary to analyze the charges against the former far-right leader and, if convicted, he could be declared ineligible for public office for eight years.
In any case, this is the sanction required by the prosecution against Jair Bolsonaro for “abuse of political power and inappropriate use of the means of communication”, according to the court.
If necessary, deliberations can continue on June 27 and 29.
Mr. Bolsonaro is under investigation for attacking electoral justice and criticizing, without proof, the reliability of electronic voting in Brazil, a few months before the presidential election which gave Lula the winner.
During a speech in July 2022 at the presidential palace, he had indeed declared before European diplomats that he wanted to “correct flaws” in the electoral system and asked for the “transparency” of the vote.
The ex-president then mentioned a possible participation of the army in his plan.
Brazil has been using electronic voting since the 1996 municipal elections and, until then, no security problems have been noted.
The former leader faces more than a dozen administrative proceedings before the electoral court for alleged abuse of political and economic power during the 2022 election period.
He is also targeted by the Supreme Court in four cases, including that of the ransacking of places of power in the capital Brasilia by supporters on January 8, and faces prison sentences.