Brazil’s former president and current presidential candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during a meeting with sports representatives in Sao Paulo, Brazil, September 27, 2022. REUTERS/Carla Carniel
BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazil's leading presidential candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Tuesday he has been informed by the United States that the country plans to recognize the result of Brazil's Oct. 2 election on the first day after the vote.
"The United States is worried, they want to recognize the result on the very first day," Lula said at a campaign event, without giving further details.
Last week, sources told Reuters that U.S. diplomats had assured Lula they would swiftly recognize the winner of the vote, seeking to avert any attempt to contest a legitimate result.
Lula is polling ahead of incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right populist who has claimed that polls are skewed, the courts favor Lula and that Brazil's electronic voting is rife with fraud, without providing proof.
Critics fear Bolsonaro may follow the example of former U.S. President Donald Trump and refuse to accept an electoral defeat.
(Reporting by Maria Carolina Marcello; editing by Richard Pullin)
