Facing increasing pressure before the 2022 election, President Jair Bolsonaro hopes to print receipts after electronic voting.

Supporters of Brazil’s embattled far-right President Jair Bolsonaro rallied in Rio de Janeiro to express their support for his call to change the country’s electronic voting system that has been in use for more than 20 years.

Bolsonaro is under pressure Corruption allegations And national COVID-19 crisis Before the presidential polls scheduled to be held next year, it is hoped that the receipt will be printed on the electronic ballot box after each vote so that the ballots can be actually recounted.

Bolsonaro is expected to face a severe challenge from the left-wing former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and recent polls show that he will defeat the far-right leader in the 2022 election.

“What we want is a public recount to increase transparency because there are suspected frauds,” 46-year-old Ronaldo Calvacante told AFP at a rally in Rio that the rally attracted about 3,000 people . Thousands also gathered in the capital Brasilia.

The country’s electoral court stated that the current voting system is completely transparent and there has never been a widespread violation, but Bolsonaro claimed that fraud has damaged the right to vote without evidence. The 2018 presidential election he won.

Al Jazeera reporter Monica Yanakif reported in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday that Bolsonaro argued that fraud prevented him from winning the first round. “But there is no evidence to prove it,” Yanakiv said.

Experts accuse Bolsonaro of trying to spread suspicion before next year’s election, just like former US President Donald Trump. Brazilian leaders follow suit.

trump card Have been wrongfully claimed for weeks The November 2020 US presidential election he lost to Joe Biden was ruined by widespread fraud.

“In the past, 11 political parties asked for a fraud certificate. What they said was [Bolsonaro is] Trying to establish a narrative similar to what Donald Trump did in the United States that there will be fraud in the presidential election next year,” Yanakif said.

“If he loses, then he has the right not to accept the result.”

During the protests in Brasilia, supporters of Brazilian President Jal Bolsonaro held signs that read “Printed and Auditable Voting” [Adriano Machado/Reuters]

Bolsonaro did not directly participate in Sunday’s rally, but he said through a video conference that he would not accept election results that were not “appropriate and democratic”. He added that he will “take all necessary measures” to ensure that paper receipts are printed after each electronic vote.

According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the president is facing increasing political pressure to explain his handling of COVID-19, which has caused more than 556,300 deaths-the second highest in the world after the United States death toll.

Questions about his alleged violations also surfaced The government’s coronavirus vaccine procurement process, And allegations of past corruption. Bolsonaro denied these allegations.

Thousands of people protest Last weekend, all South American countries condemned Bolsonaro and demanded his impeachment.Recent polls show Most Brazilians support this initiative.