BRASLIA: Brazil’s far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro vowed on Friday to appeal a court ruling barring him from public office for eight years over unfounded attacks he had made against the country’s voting system.

The ruling renders the 68-year-old ineligible to stand in the next presidential election in 2026 — opening the contest for a new leader for Brazil’s political right.

Bolsonaro was tried by the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE) over claims he made in a televised meeting with foreign diplomats in July 2022, during which he claimed electronic voting machines in use since 1996 compromised election transparency.

He gave no proof for the claims he made just three months ahead of his election defeat to leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Prosecutors say Bolsonaro’s claims contributed to a violent invasion of the presidential palace, Congress and Supreme Court in January by supporters angry about his electoral loss.

In a verdict that stretched over several days, five of the seven judges of the TSE in Brasilia voted to censure Bolsonaro for alleged abuses of power. Two found in his favor.

The former president told journalists the TSE decision was a “stab in the back” and he would appeal to the Supreme Court.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2023