Brazil's Bolsonaro political fate in hands of electoral court vote

Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro looks on at Brasilia International Airport, on the day the Electoral Justice continues the trial to determine his political rights, in Brasilia, Brazil June 29, 2023. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File photo

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Former President Jair Bolsonaro could learn his political fate on Thursday as Brazil's federal electoral court (TSE) held a third day of hearings in a trial that could see him barred from public office for nearly a decade.

Bolsonaro, a far-right nationalist, may be ruled politically ineligible until 2030 if a majority of the Brasilia court's seven judges find he abused his power when, before the 2022 vote, he summoned ambassadors to vent unfounded claims about Brazil's voting system.