Brazil: Bolsonaro Questions Vote Count System After Defeat

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro on Monday cast doubt on the country's vote-counting system after several right-wing candidates were not elected in the local elections held on November 15.

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Far-right-wing Bolsonaro noted that he has always been suspicious of the automatic voting system which has been in force in the country since 1996, pointing out that it is necessary to have "a reliable and quick scrutiny", which "does not leave room for assumptions."

"We need a counting system that leaves no room for doubt," President Bolsonaro said.

He reiterated also his proposal to re-adopt the vote through paper cells, noting that that was the desire "of the people".

Only 9 out of 59 right-wing candidates supported by President Bolsonaro managed to run for a second round to be held on November 29.

"The Cacique Marquinhos Xukuru was elected mayor of the small municipality of Pesqueira in Pernambuco. He received support from the left and he is a candidate in a party with a right-wing base." 

According to the results published by the Superior Electoral Court (SEC), Sao Paolo's current mayor Bruno Covas from the Party of Brazilian Social Democracy (PSDB) gained 32.8 percent of the votes. However, Covas will have to face the leftist and former presidential candidate Guilherme Boulos who obtained 20.2 percent of the votes.

In Rio de Janeiro, the center-right candidate Eduardo Paes finished first with almost 40 percent of the ballots and he will be facing the city's current mayor and ultra-conservative evangelical leader Marcelo Crivella.

Meanwhile, Belo Horizonte's mayor Alexandre Kalil obtained more than 50 percent of the votes, leaving out of the race Bolsonaro's backed candidate Bruno Engler who gained around 10 percent of the ballots. In Recife, the battle will be decided between the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) candidate Joao Campos and Workers' Party's (PT) candidate Marilia Arraes.

In spite of criticism over vote count delays, the SEC counted the votes of almost 148 million voters in 5,569 cities in the country, without a single complaint of fraud having been made so far.