Brazil court majority votes for barring Bolsonaro from politics

Brazil's Superior Electoral Tribunal on Friday reached the majority it needs to bar far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro from politics for eight years over his unfounded claims against the voting system.

Four of the court's seven judges had by Friday voted to sanction Bolsonaro for alleged abuses of power, while one voted in his favour.

With two votes still outstanding, the trial could yet be postponed for the final ruling.

The tribunal is trying the former president on charges he abused his office and state media in making the allegations of security flaws in Brazil's electronic voting system.

Prosecutors have linked Bolsonaro's statements to his supporters invading the presidential palace, Congress and Supreme Court on 8 January, a week after the inauguration of leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Lula defeated Bolsonaro, 68, in elections last October.

After hearing evidence in the case, the judges started delivering their verdicts one by one on Tuesday.

If convicted, Bolsonaro would not be able to contest elections in 2026.