Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro alleges fraud in US election following Trump's claims

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is a hardcore supporter of his US counterpart Donald Trump, has reiterated that he wants to wait a little longer before calling Joe Biden for the election victory. Bolsonaro also shared Trump's claim of "election fraud", saying he understands from his sources that the polls were not conducted properly and that there "really was a lot of fraud". 

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US President Donald Trump has refused to concede to Joe Biden alleging widespread 'fraud' and 'illegal' activities by poll officials. The former vice-president's transition suffered a major setback because of the Republican leader's stubbornness to accept defeat, as many of his loyalists tried to block the certification of ballots, while GSA delayed the release of funds.

The General Services Administration (GSA) is a federal agency in the US responsible for the smooth transition by granting funds to the winning candidate so that they can begin work before the inauguration.

Read: 'It's My Right': Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro Will Not Take COVID Vaccine

Bolsonaro doubtful about Brazil's system 

Bolsonaro is playing to Trump's textbook by echoing the same allegations and citing them as the reason for the delay in recognising Joe Biden as the president-elect. Bolsonaro, while talking to reporters after casting vote in Sunday's municipal election, also expressed doubts in Brazil's electronic voting system as suggested that might be vulnerable to election fraud as well. The right-wing president called for the return of paper ballots in the next presidential election, which is scheduled for 2022. 

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Bolsonaro, who is often referred to as 'Trump of the Tropics', has been using the same strategy as his US ally to appeal to the populist base in his country. Like Trump, he has been falsely claiming COVID-19 to be seasonal flu and urging people to get back to their normal lives, saying the disease would disappear in the due course. Bolsonaro often visits public places without face masks and had contracted the disease just like Trump. 

Read: Brazil-US Relations At Its 'best Moment Ever' With New Chapter: Jair Bolsonaro