Lula asks Brazil’s electoral court to disqualify rival Bolsonaro

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s campaign has asked the country’s Superior Electoral Court to disqualify his rival Flávio Bolsonaro from Sunday’s presidential run-off, alleging that Meta restricted Lula’s content to favour Bolsonaro. Flávio Bolsonaro responded with his own petition seeking Lula’s disqualification. Meta denies treating the campaigns unequally.

What is Lula’s campaign asking the electoral court to do?

The petition was filed with the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) on Wednesday. It asks for Flávio Bolsonaro and Alfredo Gaspar, his candidate for vice-president, to be investigated over “abuse of economic power and improper use of social network”. It also seeks to make Flávio Bolsonaro ineligible to stand for election for eight years following the 2026 election. Lula’s campaign accuses Meta, the company behind WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook, of limiting its content to boost Bolsonaro’s campaign.

How has Flávio Bolsonaro responded?

Flávio Bolsonaro filed a petition seeking to disqualify Lula over what he described as the mass dissemination of government posts on WhatsApp. He accused his rival of “abuse of political and economic power”, claiming the government used personal data taken from official databases to send mass WhatsApp messages promoting social programmes. The two candidates have traded personal attacks during the campaign.

What did UN experts say about Meta and the election?

On Wednesday, a report led by the UN’s special rapporteur on freedom of expression said Meta must ensure a level playing field online during the election. The report cited incidents including “temporary interruptions of one candidate’s campaign account; differences in audience engagement, user feeds, view counts and reach; restrictions on that campaign’s Instagram posts”. It added: “Information, including from Meta employees, suggests that accounts linked to one side of the presidential race were disproportionately curtailed.”

What does Meta say?

Meta has denied taking action to favour one side of the election and has said it would comply with an order from a Brazilian court to treat Bolsonaro and Lula equally. Users had also reported that Meta’s artificial intelligence tools were not generating images related to Lula, and Lula’s campaign had previously filed a complaint alleging that accounts and content related to Bolsonaro were boosted.

How close is the run-off?

Bolsonaro beat Lula in the first round of voting on 4 October by a narrow margin but fell short of the 50% of valid votes needed to win outright, forcing Sunday’s second round. Lula, who is seeking a fourth term in office, faces Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of convicted former president Jair Bolsonaro. Opinion polls suggest the run-off will be extremely close as Brazil’s 159 million registered voters prepare to go to the ballot boxes.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Flávio Bolsonaro?

Flávio Bolsonaro is the candidate facing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil’s presidential run-off and is the son of convicted former president Jair Bolsonaro. His running mate for vice-president is Alfredo Gaspar.

When is Brazil’s presidential run-off?

The second round is on Sunday, after no candidate reached 50% of valid votes in the first round on 4 October. Brazil has 159 million registered voters.

What does Lula’s campaign allege about Meta?

Lula’s campaign says Meta limited its content to boost Flávio Bolsonaro’s campaign, and has asked the Superior Electoral Court to disqualify Bolsonaro and investigate him for abuse of economic power and improper use of a social network.

Has Meta responded to the accusations?

Meta denies that the two campaigns have been treated unequally and says it would comply with a Brazilian court order to treat Bolsonaro and Lula equally.

With reporting from BBC News.

Stock image, not from the events described. City Skyline — Joe deSousa / Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)