Brazil court orders to remove video in which Bolsonaro attacks electoral system

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Lula da Silva leads Bolsonaro but would not avoid the second round, according to a poll 3:42

(CNN) –– Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court ordered the state channel TV Brasil, as well as President Jair Bolsonaro’s social media channels, to remove the video of an event in which the president attacks the country’s voting system.

The remarks came as Bolsonaro met with foreign ambassadors from Brazil at the Alvorada Palace on July 18.

According to CNN Brasil, Bolsonaro said during the meeting: “I have hundreds of videos of voters who, when they pressed my number on the ballots, the vote for other candidates appeared. They pressed 7 and 3 appeared. I am saying this before so that there is time for the Electoral Court to fix it”.

Later, he added that he would like to “improve the transparency” of the electoral process.

The Electoral Court statement noted: “No one can spread information out of context with unfounded attacks on the electoral voting system and democracy itself, instilling among voters a false notion of fraud.”

The decision against Bolsonaro’s video

The court decision was in favor of a petition filed by the opposition Democratic Labor Party (PDT). According to the ruling, Bolsonaro “created an environment favorable to all kinds of misinformation when he pointed out, on several occasions, that the electronic voting system is susceptible to fraud and invasions that, in view of the presidential delirium, can compromise” the results of the elections. The ruling held that this spread of false information is “an act of extreme gravity.”

The court also pointed out that the images of the statements, when disseminated on social networks, could be characterized as an “abusive way of obtaining votes, with an increase in popularity of [Bolsonaro]empowered by his position”.

In addition, this Wednesday the Federal Prosecutor’s Office said that it is conducting a preliminary investigation into Bolsonaro because he allegedly attacked the country’s electoral system during the meeting with the ambassadors on July 18, according to CNN Brasil.

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