‘125 Crore People Voted in India’: US President Donald Trump Confuses Brazil Election With India

New Delhi: US President Donald Trump made a big factual mistake by taking the name of India in a social media post regarding the Brazilian presidential election. Trump claimed on Truth Social that 125 crore people voted in the first round of India's presidential election and the results were declared shortly after the voting ended. However, the election he was referring to was not India's but Brazil's presidential election. 

How did India's name come in place of Brazil?

Trump's post came after the first round of presidential elections held in Brazil on Sunday. He raised questions on America's election process by giving the example of electronic voting and fast results in Brazil but wrote the name of India instead of Brazil in the post. Trump also compared the time taken for counting of votes in some states and cities of America. 

Trump had written the figure of 125 million i.e. 12.5 crores in his post. This is not 125 crores. There were about 98 crore registered voters in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in India. Apart from this, in India the president is not elected directly by public voting.

What happened in Brazil?

The first round of presidential elections took place in Brazil on Sunday. In this, current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro were among the major candidates. Neither candidate got the required majority to win the presidential election, after which there will be a second round of contest between the two on October 25. 

According to Brazilian election officials, with about 99.8 percent of votes counted, Flavio Bolsonaro had received more than 56 million votes and Lula had received about 53.7 million votes. 

How did the results start coming so quickly in Brazil?

Electronic voting machines are used in Brazil. After polling closed at 5 pm, the election authority started counting votes and releasing data. According to AP, about an hour after voting ended, about 10 percent of the votes had been counted. This speedy process was the main context of Trump's post.

How is the president elected in India?

In India, the president is not directly elected by the common voters. The President is elected by the Electoral College, which includes elected members of both Houses of Parliament and elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of States and some Union Territories. Elections are held through the system of proportional representation and single transferable vote.

The current President of India is Draupadi Murmu, who assumed office in July 2022. Therefore, the claim in Trump's post about presidential elections being held in India at the same time was also factually incorrect.

What did Trump say about the American election system?

Citing Brazil's fast vote counting, Trump compared it to the American election system. He said that even in areas with relatively fewer voters in America, it takes a long time for results to come. The purpose of his post was to question the speed and system of the American election system, but it mixed facts about the elections of India and Brazil. 

What's going on in social media?

After Trump's post, many reactions emerged on social media on his mistake regarding India and Brazil. In particular, people drew attention to the fact that in India the president is not directly elected by the public. At the same time, in Brazil, due to the presidential election and electronic voting system, the results came out relatively fast.