First Judge Votes To Bar Bolsonaro From Office In Brazil Trial

Bras�lia, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Jun, 2023 ) :One of seven judges in Jair Bolsonaro's abuse of power trial voted on Tuesday to bar the former Brazilian president from running in the 2026 elections, as the country held its breath for other judges to deliver their rulings later this week.

The Superior Electoral Tribunal is trying the far-right former leader over a televised meeting he held with foreign diplomats in July 2022 -- three months before his election defeat to leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva -- at which Bolsonaro made unproven allegations of security flaws in Brazil's electronic voting system.

Speaking after his vote Tuesday evening, lead judge Benedito Goncalves said Bolsonaro had resorted to "violent speech and lies" which "endangered the credibility of electoral justice." If found guilty, Bolsonaro could be sidelined from the 2026 vote.

The trial resumed late Tuesday and the court's seven judges were expected to hand down their rulings one by one. As lead judge on the case, Goncalves was the first to vote.

Insiders say the court is almost certain to convict Bolsonaro, who skipped the first session of the trial in Brasilia last week to meet supporters and attend events in the southern city of Porto Alegre.

"Everyone is saying I'm going to be found ineligible" to run for office, Bolsonaro acknowledged in an interview with newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo.

"I'm not going to lose hope... I'm going to continue doing my part," added the 68-year-old ex-president, who remains a powerful -- if divisive -- force in Brazil.

Bolsonaro faces an eight-year ban on running for public office if found guilty of the charges of abusing his office and misusing state media.

A third court date had been scheduled for Thursday if the judges did not finish delivering their rulings, and the case could potentially be extended longer.

"Bolsonaro awaits the decision with respect," the ex-leader's lawyer, Tarcisio Vieira, told reporters before entering the courtroom.

He said the evidence was "fragile for a sanction of that magnitude."Earlier, Bolsonaro's lawyer said that if necessary he would appeal to the Supreme Court