MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolsonaro given 2 days to reply to TSE, faces disenfranchisement

Bolsonaro is under investigation for speaking evil of Brazil's electronic ballot box without supporting evidence

Superior Electoral Court (TSE) Justice Benedito Gonçalves gave former President Jair Bolsonaro two working days to submit his closing arguments in a case that may render him ineligible for public office, Agencia Brasil reported Saturday.

 The decision was signed Friday by Gonçalves, who ended the instruction phase of one of the actions that challenge Bolsonaro's conduct during a meeting with ambassadors, in July 2022, when he spoke ill of the electronic ballot box and the Brazilian electoral system without presenting evidence.

“The rich body of evidence gathered in the records, which was formed with extensive participation of the parties and the MPE, exhausts the purposes of the instruction, which is why it is necessary to close the present procedural stage,” wrote Gonçalves in his decision.

A draft seized by the Federal Police (PF) at the home of former Justice Minister Anderson Torres is among the evidence that is part of the process.

In a statement to the Federal Police (PF), Torres said he does not know who the author of the draft is and that the document is “totally disposable” and “without legal viability.”