Voting in the second round of the presidential election in Brazil has been extended by two hours and will continue until 7:00 p.m. local time. The decision was made by Supreme Federal Court judge Cristiano Zanin following a request from President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's campaign. It covers polling stations across the country.
Voting was originally scheduled to end at 5:00 p.m. The announcement of the first preliminary results and the subsequent count have been postponed until the end of the extended vote. This gives voters who were unable to get to their polling stations in time due to transport or weather problems an extra day to exercise their right to vote.
Bus shortages in several cities
The decision was made after reports of serious public transport problems. Lula's campaign requested an extension due to problems in São Paulo and the cities of Salvador, Feira de Santana and Lauro de Freitas in the state of Bahia. According to the campaign headquarters in São Paulo, only 60% of the planned bus fleet had been provided, despite a court order to release the full number of vehicles.
“We will not allow theft, banditry and bandit mayors. We will not accept banditry and bad behavior by mayors, governors and entrepreneurs“, Lula said. He urged voters not to give up and wait to vote.
Rains and floods hampered access
Separately, Flavio Bolsonaro's campaign requested an extension of voting in 17 municipalities in the states of São Paulo, Paraná and Santa Catarina. The reasons cited were heavy rains, floods, landslides and blocked roads that made it difficult to get to the polling stations.
It is important to note that the general extension of voting was ordered by the Supreme Federal Court through Judge Cristiano Zanin. Requests have also been made to the Supreme Electoral Court, including from both campaigns, but the decision to extend the nationwide deadline rests with the Supreme Federal Court.
Sources: www1.folha.uol.com.br, exame.com, noticias.uol.com.br