Brazil's Supreme Electoral Court has voted 5-2 to bar former President Jair Bolsonaro from running for office for eight years. The court found him guilty of abusing his power ahead of last year's presidential election.
Bolsonaro was accused of undermining Brazilian democracy by falsely claiming that the electronic ballots used were vulnerable to hacking and fraud. The ban is backdated to 2 October 2022, when the presidential election took place.
If the verdict stands, Bolsonaro will be ineligible for the next presidential election in 2026 but can run again in 2030. He will also be barred from municipal elections in 2024 and 2028.
Bolsonaro called the decision a 'stab in the back' and said he would continue working to advance right-wing politics in Brazil. His lawyers are expected to appeal, arguing that his statements had no bearing on the election result.
The case centred on a speech Bolsonaro gave in July 2022, where he falsely claimed that Brazil's electronic voting machines were prone to hacking. The speech came during a polarising campaign against left-wing rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who won the election by a narrow margin.
Bolsonaro never publicly conceded defeat and left for Florida before Lula's inauguration. His supporters stormed government buildings on 8 January, refusing to accept the election outcome.
