Supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro watching in Brasília, the capital of Brazil, as the results of the presidential election were announced on Sunda
For months, President Jair Bolsonaro claimed the only way he would lose Brazil’s presidential election was if it was rigged.
On Monday, a day after he lost, he declined to immediately concede to his leftist challenger, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, leaving Latin America’s largest democracy on edge over whether there would be a peaceful transition of power.
Mr. Bolsonaro spent much of Monday holed up at the presidential offices, meeting with top advisers and Brazil’s minister of defense. At least some of the advisers urged the president to concede, but it was not clear if he had yet reached a decision on what to do, according to three government officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private meetings.
By Monday evening, nearly a full day after election officials had declared Mr. da Silva the new president-elect, Mr. Bolsonaro had yet to speak publicly. He was spending Monday evening working on a response at the presidential palace, with a plan to say something on Tuesday, though what he would say was unclear, according to a senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
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