Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin on Oct. 26 rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that Brazil's presidential election was "rigged" and questioned his skepticism over the extension of voting hours, in an interview with Brazilian media.
Alckmin said that non-interference in other countries' internal affairs is a basic principle. And there is no evidence to support this claim. He noted that Brazil's elections have an electronic voting system and legal safeguards, and that the outcome is determined entirely by the Brazilian people. Data from Brazil's Superior Electoral Court shows that even if voting hours had not been extended, Workers' Party candidate and incumbent President Lula would still have won.
Trump earlier on Oct. 26 said Brazil's presidential election looks like it was rigged, and called the extension of voting hours "very strange." Brazilian media, citing data from the Superior Electoral Court, pointed out that at 5 pm on Oct. 25—after the original closing time—only about 34,000 votes had been recorded, accounting for 0.03% of the total, while Lula's lead exceeded 4.43 million votes.
Data released by the Superior Electoral Court on the night of Oct. 25 showed that Lula won 51.79% of all valid votes in the second round of the presidential election held that day, defeating Flávio Bolsonaro, the Liberal Party candidate and son of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Earlier that day, after nationwide public transport stoppages and heavy rain affected voters, Brazil's Federal Supreme Court ruled that the deadline for receiving votes at all polling stations nationwide would be extended from 5 pm to 7 pm.
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