Brazil court majority votes to bar former president Bolsonaro from politics

Brazil's Superior Electoral Tribunal 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 voted to sanction Bolsonaro for alleged abuses of power. 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 January 8, a week after the inauguration of leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. 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.