Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has alleged that he has information that there was a ‘lot of fraud’ in the just concluded US Presidential Elections. He said this while speaking to the reporters in Rio De Janeiro over recognizing the victory of Joe Biden, reports Washington Post.
Bolsonaro who was seen as a supporter of Donald Trump and his policies, said that he has his sources which affirm fraud. “I have my sources of information that there really was a lot of fraud there,” Bolsonaro said. He did not elaborate on the allegation or the kind of ‘fraud’ about which he has information. Brazil’s President was talking with the media outside a polling station, after voting during the run-off municipal elections in Rio de Janeiro on 29 Nov, Sunday.
He also said that he is not yet ready to recognize the victory of Joe Biden saying that he cannot be sure of his victory. “Nobody talks about that. If it was enough to define (victory) for one or the other, I don’t know. I am holding back (recognizing Biden’s victory) a little more”, he said.
US President Donald Trump has alleged widespread ‘fraud’ and ‘illegal’ activities by poll officials and has refused to officially concede to Joe Biden . The transition to the next administration has not begun as expected due to Trump’s charges and legal battles he has mounted in several states. It is also reported that Trump’s supporters have tried to block the certification of ballots, demanding recounts and leading to more court cases. The GSA had delayed the release of funds till last week for the transition as it is dependent on the incumbent President to concede.
The General Services Administration is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. Its functioning is of paramount importance during presidential transition. Last week, Emily Murphy, the head of the General Services Administration, ascertained Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential election on Monday, thus formally allowing critical transition activities and funds to be made available to Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
However, the confusion has led to many world leaders like Bolsonaro to stop short of recognizing Biden. Russian President Putin has said that he is not yet ready to recognize Biden’s victory yet. The Russian president had said he has been waiting for an “end to the domestic political standoff” before he could recognize the president-elect. Chinese President Xi who had not congratulated Biden for couple of weeks, finally recognized his victory in mid-November. Indian PM Narendra Modi was among the first world leaders to congratulate Biden on his victory on November 7th.
Aayush Pal 
Balaji Subramanian 
Palak Dogra