Analyst: "Bolsonaro has a greater rejection than Lula" 3:15
(CNN) --
More than 12 hours after Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was declared the winner of Brazil's 2022 presidential election, incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro has yet to publicly acknowledge his defeat.
Lula da Silva is the elected president of Brazil after beating Bolsonaro narrowly in the second round
Bolsonaro's delay in conceding victory has fueled fears that the current president will not cooperate with a transfer of power.
Before the second round of elections this Sunday, Bolsonaro and some of his allies made unfounded claims about electoral fraud and unfair treatment by the press.
This Monday, in the first public statements by a member of Bolsonaro's inner circle since his defeat, the senator and eldest son of President Flavio Bolsonaro sent a message on Twitter.
"Thanks to all those who helped us rescue patriotism, who prayed, prayed, took to the streets, gave their sweat for the country that is working and gave Bolsonaro the biggest vote of his life! Let's raise our heads and let's not give up on our Brazil! God is in charge!
Some of Bolsonaro's supporters are still waiting to hear from him: truckers blocked major avenues and highways in at least 12 Brazilian states on Monday, saying the results were too close and they wanted to hear from Bolsonaro, according to CNN Brasil.
But experts point out that the concession, public or not, is already out of the hands of the outgoing president.
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Jair Bolsonaro on election day.
(Credit: Thiago Ribeiro/AGIF/Reuters)
The Superior Electoral Court of Brazil is the one that officially validates the results of the elections and communicates them to the Senate, the Chamber of Deputies and the State Assemblies.
A press officer from the electoral authority told CNN that the results of the vote are considered validated since the court's statement on Sunday.
A later court session will formally confirm the victory, but a date for that has not yet been set, he added.
The president of the Superior Electoral Court, Alexandre de Moraes, personally called both Lula da Silva and Bolsonaro this Sunday to inform them of the results and congratulate them on their participation in the democratic process, according to a press release.
De Moraes also said he didn't see much room for the election to be contested.
"The result has been proclaimed, accepted and those who were elected will take office on January 1," he said in the statement.
The president of the Brazilian Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, has already publicly congratulated Lula da Silva and his supporters, as has the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira, a close ally of Bolsonaro.
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In addition, foreign leaders from around the world also expressed their support for Lula da Silva's victory and quickly issued statements recognizing him as president-elect.
"I send my congratulations to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for his election to take office as the next president of Brazil after free, fair and credible votes," said the president of the United States, Joe Biden, after the elections this Sunday.
And Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his congratulations in a message reported by the Russian state news agency TASS.
"The results of the vote confirm his high political authority," he said in the communication.
Now, the diplomatic work of the president-elect is already underway, as Lula da Silva will meet with the president of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, one of the first foreign leaders to congratulate him, in Sao Paulo this Monday.
Previous refusals to concede defeat in Brazil
At least twice before, Brazil's leaders have refused to participate in the transfer of power.
At the beginning of the Brazilian republic in the late 19th century, Army Marshal Floriano Peixoto did not attend the inauguration of his successor, Prudente de Moraes.
And almost a century later, the last of the unelected military presidents, João Batista Figueiredo, snubbed the inauguration of his successor José Sarney.
In both cases, the boycott was largely symbolic.
The same would happen if Bolsonaro refused to concede the presidency in a public statement, according to legal expert Augusto de Arruda Botelho.
"Not recognizing the result is a failure from the political point of view, because ultimately, it is the Electoral Court that hands over power to the winner of the election," he told CNN.
Lula's main challenges as president of Brazil: uniting a divided country and protecting the Amazon
"[Bolsonaro] can kick and scream as much as he wants," he added.
In addition, Bolsonaro is politically interested in appearing to be a good loser, political scientist Camila Rocha told CNN.
Rocha's research shows that refusing to concede victory would be detrimental to Bolsonaro's public image among his own supporters.
"Even the most extreme pro-Bolsonaro supporters, like the ones I interviewed last year in Santa Catarina for my research, say that if Bolsonaro lost, he would have had to accept the result," he told CNN.
"So it is very clear that if Bolsonaro refuses to accept Lula's victory, it could have a negative impact even among his supporters. He would certainly be perceived as a sore loser," he added.
Marcia Reverdosa and Rodrigo Pedroso in Sao Paulo contributed to this report
Elections BrazilJair BolsonaroLula da Silva