Lula team sues Bolsonaro and sons for power abuse during Brazil election

President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's election team has sued outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro, his running mate and two of his sons for abuse of power and attacks on Brazil's voting system, both during the October election campaign.

The two lawsuits, filed in the electoral court on Thursday, seek to ban the four men from running for office in future.

One lawsuit accused Bolsonaro, Braga Neto and two of the president's sons — Senator Flavio Bolsonaro and Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro — of interfering with the elections by repeatedly attacking the electoral system and trying to build support for a military coup.

The second lawsuit accuses Bolsonaro of power abuse by illegally granting financial benefits to citizens during the campaign with the "clear intention of gaining votes and, therefore, influencing the choice of Brazilian voters, so as to harm the smoothness of the election."

Bolsonaro mostly absent after loss

Bolsonaro and his vice presidential candidate, retired army general Walter Braga Neto, narrowly lost the election.

During campaigning, Bolsonaro repeatedly criticised the country's electronic voting system, claiming without evidence that it was open to fraud.

Last month, the head of Brazil's electoral authority rejected a request from Bolsonaro and his political party to annul ballots cast on most electronic voting machines, which would have overturned the October 30 election, saying it's "bizarre and illicit".

Bolsonaro has been mostly absent since losing the elections in October and attended a few inauguration ceremonies.

Advisors and allies have given various explanations for his absences, from an alleged "sadness" over his defeat at the polls to erysipelas, a bacterial skin infection that reportedly affects one of his legs.

He will leave office on January 1 to Lula, who will begin his term on the first day of the year.