The Brazilian Social Democracy Party, a major political group seeking to break the right-left polarization in next year’s presidential elections, was forced to postpone its Sunday primaries after technological problems marred its electronic voting app.
The party known as PSDB, which ruled the country between 1995 and 2002 under former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, said in its official Twitter account that it will reopen the system at a later date to allow for all of its members to cast their ballots. Votes that were already cast are safe and will be counted, it added.
Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria and Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite, the front-runners in the primaries, had earlier expressed concern about the reliability of the system following reports that many party members were unable to cast their ballots.
The PSDB seeks to launch a viable alternative to right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro and leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the 2022 election. But space for a “third-way” candidate is narrowing with the likely candidacy of former Carwash judge Sergio Moro, who emerged in opinion polls with about 9% of voting intention. Doria and Leite, meanwhile, still poll between 3% and 4% in recent surveys.
