Updated June 30, 2023 at 1:02 PM ET
RIO DE JANEIRO — Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been barred from office until 2030 for abuse of power, after he made unfounded claims about Brazil's voting system ahead of last year's election.
The seven judges on Brazil's Superior Electoral Court in Brasilia voted by a majority to ban the former president for eight years. This means the right-wing populist will be unable to stand in the next presidential election. He could be eligible to run in the 2030 election, when he will be 75.
The justices say Bolsonaro abused his power when he summoned ambassadors to his residence last year and made baseless claims about the country's voting machines. The meeting was just months before the election, which Bolsonaro narrowly lost.
Two justices sided with Bolsonaro, saying he had the right to freely express his opinions.
Bolsonaro says he will appeal the decision.
The former president still faces more than a dozen other cases, including one into his possible encouragement of attacks on the capital's government center by a mob of his supporters on Jan. 8.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
