Lula says bus cuts hinder voters in Brazil

SAO PAULO:

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Sunday that many people had been "barred from voting" after buses were taken out of circulation in Sao Paulo and several other cities.

"We are asking the Supreme Court to extend the electoral process so that those who were effectively barred from voting, due to the dirty tactics of mayors, can still cast their votes," said Lula.

The 80-year-old leftist is facing a knife-edge election race against right-wing senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who finished ahead of him in a first round vote earlier this month.

Lula said 40 percent of buses were pulled from service in Sao Paulo, a problem also taking place in several cities in his native northeastern Brazil.

"I've never complained about anything in any election before. Whether I won or lost, I'd just accept it and get ready for the next one. But this time, something abominable is happening," he said.

"No one should give up on voting just because some scoundrel of a business owner or some crooked, criminal mayor tried to stop the people from casting their ballots."

The regional electoral court of the northeastern state of Bahia, where Lula won 65 percent of the vote in the first round, ordered the arrest of the local transport secretary for failing to offer free transport on election day.

Local media reported that 75 buses had been prevented from leaving garages in the city.

"We do, in fact, have transportation difficulties in some locations, which are already being resolved," Kassio Nunes, president of the Superior Electoral Court, told journalists.