Speaking to journalists at the Portuguese Parliament, Ventura said it was “obvious that Chega was not, and is not, happy with the victory of someone it considers to sponsor corruption at the highest level, but who has also caused enormous disruption and destruction to our common heritage in terms of the Portuguese language and Portuguese-speaking democracies”.

“[Lula da Silva] is a symbol of everything we do not want in our democracies,” he criticised.

Wait for judicial verification

The Chega leader argued that “Portugal should wait for the judicial verification of the electoral process in Brazil before recognising, or refusing to recognise, or assessing what happened in the Brazilian elections”.

“If the polling station opening hours were extended, shortened or changed in Portugal, but ballot boxes were then only opened in a certain part of the country and not in others, we would be questioning the legitimacy of the process. And I believe that is how it should be in a democracy. The legitimacy of the process should be questioned, and demands should be made for it to be legitimate and properly conducted, regardless of who wins,” he argued.

Victory not recognised

André Ventura claimed that “several Western countries have still not recognised Lula da Silva’s election victory” and that “Portugal, as the country with the largest Brazilian population abroad, or the second-largest, has a particular responsibility”.

Lula da Silva won the second round of Brazil’s presidential election with approximately 51.7% of the vote, defeating Flávio Bolsonaro. He is due to begin his fourth presidential term early next year.

Overturning the first-round deficit

In the second round, held on 25 October, the former factory worker and trade unionist, representing the Workers’ Party (PT), achieved an unprecedented reversal of the first-round result, in which he finished second behind Jair Bolsonaro’s son.

Defeat not accepted

Flávio Bolsonaro, of the Liberal Party (PL), said he did not accept the defeat and would seek to have the election annulled. He criticised the decision to extend polling station opening hours by two hours following reports of public transport problems that had hindered voters’ ability to reach polling stations.

Lula da Silva’s terms in office

Lula da Silva, who will turn 81 on 27 October, is completing his third presidential term, having been elected in 2022 after defeating then-incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently under house arrest over an attempted coup.

Lula’s first two terms as President of Brazil ran from 2003 to 2011.

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