TSE Restores Flávio Bolsonaro's Party Affiliation After Fraudulent Registration Attempt

The Superior Electoral Court (TSE) restored Senator Flávio Bolsonaro's affiliation with the Liberal Party (PL) on Thursday after he was fraudulently registered as a member of the Missão party. The error was discovered just days before the deadline for presidential candidacy registration, which is set for Saturday. The fraudulent registration initially blocked the PL from formalizing Bolsonaro's candidacy in the electoral system. TSE President Minister Kassio Nunes Marques subsequently canceled the link to Missão and officially registered Bolsonaro's candidacy for the presidency under the PL.

The TSE stated that the incident was not the result of a system hack. Instead, the court determined that someone using official credentials from the Missão party misused the tool to effect the change. In response, the TSE temporarily suspended the processing of new affiliations in the Filia system to prevent further unauthorized registrations. The court also identified a failed attempt to change the party affiliation of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to the Christian Democracy (DC) party. Both candidates' statuses have since been regularized.

Conflicting accounts emerged regarding how the fraud occurred. The Missão party claimed it was also a victim of fraud and alleged that the registration was processed via access to Bolsonaro's official office email. They further noted that the registration form listed a fictitious address: Rua Dos Bandidos, number 666, in the Bairro Miliciano. Bolsonaro denied these claims, stating that his office only received automatic spam emails and that the fraud originated from the party's own credentials. Bolsonaro also claimed he later received a fraudulent email attempting to affiliate him with the Workers' Party (PT).

Minister Nunes Marques has ordered a police inquiry and sent a representation to the Electoral General Prosecutor's Office to investigate the circumstances. While the system remains temporarily suspended for new processing, the TSE noted that this does not prejudice current candidates because the legal deadline for party affiliation was in April.