Brazil: President Lula da Silva's presidential inauguration to be safeguarded by public security forces

Brazil's Ministry of Justice and Public Security has authorised the deployment of the National Public Security Force to safeguard the presidential inauguration of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on January 1, 2023.

The force, an elite group comprising various public safety forces, including military and civilian police, will be deployed until January 2 in light of "threats from groups opposing the incoming government", reports Xinhua news agency.

Organisers of the inauguration ceremony expect some 300,000 people to attend the event at the Ministries Esplanade in the capital Brasilia.

Supporters of outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro have been protesting the results of the October 30 runoff.

One man identified as George Washington de Oliveira Sousa, 54, was arrested on December 24 for planting a bomb at the international airport in Brasilia.

He told police his plan was to "spark chaos...to provoke chaos to prevent the inauguration", local media reported.

In the runoff, Lula received more than 60 million votes, or 50.89 per cent of the ballots, surpassing Bolsonaro's 58 million votes, or 49.11 per cent.

This was the smallest margin in a runoff election in Brazil's history.

In the first round held on October 2, Lula garnered 48.3 per cent of the vote, compared to 43.2 per cent for Bolsonaro.

Lula, who had served as the President for two terms between 2003 and 2010, is now set to serve a third four-year term.

This is a comeback for the former President who could not run in the 2018 election because he was in jail and banned from standing for office.

He had been found guilty of receiving a bribe from a Brazilian construction firm in return for contracts with Brazil's state oil company Petrobras.

He spent 580 days in jail before his conviction was annulled, marking his return to the political fray.

(KB/IANS)