The Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) of Brazil has decided to open an investigation into Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for his statements claiming there will be fraud in next year’s elections.

The TSE also decided to demand the Supreme Court to look into whether Bolsonaro committed a crime by attacking the electoral system on social media, and thus risking Brazil's democracy.

Bolsonaro has repeatedly stated that Brazil's electronic voting system is susceptible to fraud. Simultaneously, critics say that Bolsonaro is sowing doubts with unfounded claims in order to avoid defeat in 2022.

Over the weekend, supporters of the President held rallies in several cities in support of his proposal to make changes to the standing electoral system.

"What we want is that the votes can be recounted publicly, for there to be more transparency, because there have been suspicions of fraud," a protester said.

Bolsonaro is advocating for the use of printed receipts that can be counted if an election result is disputed, a change from the current all-electronic voting system. Bolsonaro has stated that if the system is not changed, he may refuse to accept the outcome of next year's presidential election.

In a video message, Bolsonaro has lately insisted that he will not accept elections that are not "fair and democratic."

He added that he would do "whatever necessary" to guarantee there are paper printouts of votes cast in the next elections.

Earlier, thousands of Brazilians have taken to the streets across Brazil to protest against Bolsonaro and his handling of the Covid pandemic which killed more than half a million people, according to AFP.