Brazil's Congress to Reject Bolsonaro's New Voting System Plan
1h ago
Andrew Rosati and Simone Iglesias, Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s congress is set to reject President Jair Bolsonaro’s request to change the country’s voting system, setting the stage for heightened political tension after he argued next year’s elections may be stolen from him without the modification.
Lawmakers will start discussing the bill on the floor of the lower house late on Tuesday and a final vote is expected later in the evening, according to Speaker Arthur Lira. The proposal would mandate a paper printout of each vote electronically cast. As a constitutional amendment, it needs to be approved by 308 of the 513 house representatives in two rounds of voting, before going to the senate. Most political parties in the lower house have announced that they will vote against the bill.
Alarm bells are ringing in Brasilia after the far-right leader suggested that, without paper receipts that could be manually counted, he may not accept the outcome of the election or perhaps not even hold it next year, as mandated by the constitution. An unusual parade of military tanks through the streets of the capital added to the sense of unease, with many politicians describing it as an attempt by the president to intimidate them.
The parade was organized by the navy to invite Bolsonaro and his defense minister to participate in a traditional military exercise that takes place next week. It was the first time, however, that the invitation was delivered with a display of military power in Brasilia. The navy said in a statement it had long planned the event and that it had no relation with votes being carried out in congress.
More:
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/brazil-s--to-reject-bolsonaro-s-new-voting-system-plan-1.1638819
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