A Brazilian Supreme Court judge on Monday temporarily suspended several provisions by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro that allowed people to buy guns, citing a “risk of political violence” during the campaign.

“The start of the election campaign heightens the risk of political violence,” which “makes the need to limit access to arms and ammunition extremely and extraordinarily urgent,” Judge Edson Fachin wrote.

Fachin said he made the decision “in light of recent and unfortunate episodes of political violence”.

He did not say whether he was referring to local events, such as the shooting of a Labor Party (PT) treasurer by a Bolsonaro-supporting police officer in July or the attempted assassination of Vice President Cristina Kirchner on Thursday in neighboring Argentina.

According to the court, Fachin’s decision states that only “persons demonstrating a specific need” can own guns, one of the rules that Bolsonaro, an avid gun-owner advocate, relaxed by decree.

It also stipulates that purchases of limited-use firearms should be permitted only for reasons of “public safety or national defense, not personal interest,” such as for hunters, sport shooters, and collectors who may purchase assault rifles.

This category of gun buyers, which has skyrocketed from 117,000 registrations to more than 673,000 under the Bolsonaro government, is of particular concern to security experts who fear episodes of violence amid polarized October 2 elections.

When voting, Bolsonaro meets left-wing ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Bolsonaro’s constant questioning of the e-voting system has raised fears that his supporters may dismiss any possible defeat and repeat scenes like the attack on the US Capitol in 2021 after former President Donald Trump lost the election.

Monday’s judgment comes into effect immediately until the Federal Court of Justice has completed its deliberations on the constitutionality of the decrees that have been suspended for a year.

Lawyer Bruno Langeani, a member of the NGO Instituto Sou da Paz, told AFP the decision was an “important one” that “shows an understanding by the Supreme Court that guns can be a destabilizing element in elections.”

Brazil’s top electoral court last week restricted the carrying of guns at polling stations, another sign of concern over possible episodes of violence.