Thousands of Brazilians demand army support to block Lula taking power

Thousands of Brazilians gathered outside Army barracks in Rio de Janeiro,  Brasilia and other cities demanding the military intervene to prevent leftist president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva taking power next year.

"We want a better Brazil. We don't want Lula to take charge on January 1, we don't want a communist country," bank employee Lais Nunes, 30, said in Rio.

Protesters draped in green and gold waved Brazilian flags and sung the national anthem on what was a bank holiday.

Supporters of outgoing far-right President Jair Bolsonaro have alleged fraud surrounding the electronic voting system that has been used since 1996.

Bolsonaro himself did likewise repeatedly, without providing any supporting evidence.

Brazil's defence ministry has, however, produced a report dismissing alleged inconsistencies in the electronic results, while international observers also validated the election result.

Lula, who was also president from 2003-10 and left with sky-high approval ratings, won the October 30 run-off with just under 51 percent of the vote compared to Bolsonaro's 49 percent.

In the capital Brasilia, thousands more gathered at the army's headquarters with some holding up banners such as "S.O.S Armed Forces" and "Audit at the polls."

Security was stepped up in the capital and police restricted access to the area around the presidential palace, parliament and supreme court.

Similar protests took place straight after the second round election last month.