Brazil's Jailed Ex-President Lula Gives Up On Running For Presidency - Reports

Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is currently serving a jail term for corruption, has given up on the idea to run for the position of the country's leader, UK media reported on Tuesday, citing a source from Brazil's leftist Workers' Party.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th September, 2018) Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is currently serving a jail term for corruption, has given up on the idea to run for the position of the country's leader, UK media reported on Tuesday, citing a source from Brazil's leftist Workers' Party.

Lula, who used to be the Workers' Party's candidate, was banned from running for presidency by the Brazilian Superior Electoral Court, which his legal team appealed on September 5.

According to the Guardian newspaper, Lula has voiced his support for Fernando Haddad, the former mayor of the Brazilian largest city of Sao Paulo, who was previously the party's vice presidential candidate.

The source added that the Workers' Party would officially announce later Haddad's nomination later in the day.

In July 2017, Lula, who used to rule the country from 2003 to 2010, was sentenced to 9.5 years in prison for corruption, which he appealed. An appeals court increased the sentence up to 12 years and one month in January, and in April 2018, the 72-year-old started serving his term in the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba.

On September 4, Sao Paolo state prosecutors said that they had charged Haddad over bribery committed during his 2012 mayoral campaign, which he denied. This cannot hinder his ability to run for the position, as it will not be possible to play out a trial before the election.