Flávio Bolsonaro, the PL presidential candidate, has asked Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE) to bar President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the PT candidate for reelection, from holding campaign livestreams at the Palácio da Alvorada, the president's official residence in Brasília. The filing was submitted on Monday night, September 14, according to G1. It challenges a campaign livestream broadcast from the residence on Sunday, September 13, which lasted about 45 minutes.
Flávio's lawyers argue that Lula committed "conduta vedada a agente público", a category of prohibited conduct for public officials under Brazilian electoral law. The law allows official residences to be used exceptionally for campaign meetings and contacts, the petition says, but such activities cannot take on the character of a public act. TSE rules, according to the PL candidate's defense, set cumulative conditions for election broadcasts from the official residence: a neutral environment without institutional symbols; participation restricted to the officeholder alone; content exclusively about the candidate's own campaign; and no public resources or services.
The filing says Sunday's livestream featured active participation by PT national president Edinho Silva, the party's national communications secretary Éden Valadares and communicator Ana Flávia. That, Flávio's campaign argues, violated the requirement that only the officeholder take part. The petition also cites the 2022 precedent, when the TSE itself barred then president Jair Bolsonaro from holding campaign livestreams at the Alvorada.
The requests and the PT response
Flávio is asking for immediate removal of the video from Lula's official YouTube channel and for Google Brasil to be summoned. He also requests a preliminary injunction to stop the governing ticket from holding new electoral broadcasts or using the Alvorada's structure and public services in breach of the law. At the end of the process, his campaign requests a fine.
Lula's campaign press office said on Sunday that the livestream "used strictly the campaign's equipment" and that "the Palácio da Alvorada is the official residence of the government and President Lula's private space". The PT team says it follows TSE rules and has taken electoral-period measures since July, moving political broadcasts from the state broadcaster EBC's networks to the candidate's personal and campaign pages.
The livestream aired after a street mobilization called "Dia 13 com Lula", organized by PT supporters. It showed campaign jingles, ads and instructions for supporters on social media. Lula spoke about his economic record, his proposals on public security and education, and directly criticized Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, linking the opposition to militia groups, according to G1. The TSE has not yet ruled on the request. The first round of the presidential election is scheduled for October 4.