Bolsonaro's party accepts Lula's re-election as ex-leader faces travel ban

Flavio Bolsonaro's Liberal Party recognised the re-election of left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Monday. "We recognise the result of the presidential election as proclaimed by the Superior Electoral Court," the party said, the day after Sunday's ballot. This acknowledgement comes as Bolsonaro himself has not formally admitted defeat.

On Sunday, when results were announced, the conservative candidate had stated he would request the election be annulled. He reversed course on Monday, however, declaring instead that he would ask the courts to invalidate Lula's candidacy on grounds of economic and political abuse of power.

Alongside his party's decision, Bolsonaro said on Monday that he had been ordered to surrender his passports to judicial authorities and banned by a judge from leaving the country. According to a police source, the senator's passports were ultimately cancelled after he failed to comply with the order to hand them over.

The 45-year-old senator faces multiple investigations, including for corruption and money laundering. One inquiry concerns the financing of a film about his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro.

According to reports, Bolsonaro left Brazil for the United States after his presidential defeat, despite the judicial ban on leaving the country and the cancellation of his passports.