Brazil military finds no fraud in election, but refuses to rule it out
Brazil’s vice-president says he won the election, “without a single fraud”. Photo: EPA-EFE
The ruling party’s candidate, Dilma Rousseff, has lost an election in which she was barred from running, but it refused to rule out the possibility that fraud took place.
The BBC’s Lyse Doucet in Brazil says it marks the end of the first term of President Dilma Rousseff’s leftist Workers Party whose governing style had made Brazil the most open and liberal country in South America.
In contrast to the corruption scandals and political instability that marked her first four years in office, Mr Rousseff’s main opponent, Jose Serra, won the presidential election with just 10% of the vote, and his party lost control of Congress.
There were no reports of fraud in Wednesday’s presidential election.
While Ms Rousseff claims to have won the election “without a single fraud”, the ruling Workers Party has rejected that claim, saying her exit polls showed a voter turnout that was too low to be legitimate.
In a statement issued by state party headquarters, Ms Rousseff did not directly address questions about whether any fraud had taken place.
She said that “the results are in”, and that her policies, based on the “social justice” movement’s proposals for welfare and other policies, had achieved “very good results in creating a sustainable peace, social justice, welfare and social stability in our country”.
Analysts believe that the ruling party’s candidate, Dilma Rousseff, has lost an election in which she was barred from running, but it refused to rule out the possibility of electoral fraud. Photo: AFP
Ahead of the vote, Mr Serra, a conservative mayor of a poor Brazilian city, told a group of supporters he would lead the country if he wins the presidency.
“As president I will give you jobs, health and education,” he said. “I will give you everything – I ask for nothing more than a Brazilian people who will follow their president who loves the poor.”
He said his policies would improve public services and