Salvador bus fleet held back during runoff election, official faces arrest order

Brazil's electoral prosecutor's office inspected two major bus company garages in Salvador on Sunday, October 25, during the presidential runoff. The checks confirmed reports that part of the fleet had been kept out of service despite instructions that buses run with the same frequency as on weekdays. Inspectors found 97 buses out of operation at one company and 120 vehicles idle at the other.

The Bahia Regional Electoral Court ordered the municipality to return 100 percent of vehicles to the streets within one hour, with free fares, under penalty of a fine of 1 million reais per hour. The court also directed federal police to arrest immediately the municipal mobility secretary, Pablo Souza, who is currently in Paris.

“The active fleet was smaller than on weekdays, following instructions from the municipal mobility secretariat.”

The order followed a complaint by the Brazil of Hope federation, which groups the Workers' Party, the Communist Party of Brazil, and the Green Party. The federation told the court at 10:30 a.m. that public transport in the capital was operating with a reduction of more than 50 percent compared with weekdays. Between 10:56 and 11:09, it attached videos and photos of dozens of buses parked in garages during voting hours.

An auxiliary judge, Antonio Marcelo Oliveira Libonati, prepared an inspection report at the BRT headquarters on Barros Reis Avenue. The site supervisor, Igor Cesar da Cruz Moraes, said the active fleet was smaller than on weekdays, following instructions from the municipal mobility secretariat. The municipality confirmed to the press that at least 75 buses had been prevented from leaving garages, attributing the blockage to stickers bearing the number of presidential candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The prosecutor's office notified the city of Salvador to provide explanations and take immediate measures within one hour. The court's decision aims to guarantee full exercise of the right to vote and adequate transport conditions for voters.