With a general election less than three months away, Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro gathered foreign diplomats at his palace on Monday to warn that his country’s voting system could be rigged. The polarizing populist, who is forecast to lose in a landslide in October, pointed to a 2018 hack of Brazil’s election agency as evidence for his claims of possible voter fraud, along with allegations that particular Supreme Court justices were attempting to undermine his electoral chances. “I know that you all want democratic stability in our country,” Bolsanora said in his public presentation, which was watched by diplomats from most of the embassies in Brazil’s capital, Brasília. “And that will only be achieved with transparent, reliable elections.” Bolsonaro even suggested that the elections could be bolstered by more heavily involving Brazil’s military in the process. Some diplomats are reportedly worried that the presentation signaled Bolsonaro’s intention to dispute the election result if he loses.
