On Monday, US President Donald Trump, mistaking the South American country of Brazil for India, commented on its presidential election. The blunder occurred when Trump was talking about the electoral process and accusing the elections in America of being “corrupt”. Trump claimed that “125 million people voted in the first round of India’s presidential election today.” However, it appears that the post was about the Brazilian presidential election, as no such election was taking place in India.
“Today, 12.5 million people voted in the first round of India’s presidential election. Shortly after voting closed, the results came in the same day,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Trump then compared the voting process to elections in areas such as Detroit, Philadelphia and California, claiming that US elections are “corrupt”. “Voting in America is corrupt,” Trump said, referring to the time it takes for votes to be counted in US cities and states. The US President said, “Even in Detroit, Philadelphia, California and many other US cities and states, where turnout is very low, results take weeks to be counted (ie, fraudulent). Voting in America is corrupt.”
However, Trump later corrected his post. He removed the mention of India and replaced it with Brazil, but continued to criticize the US voting system. Trump wrote, “Today, 125 million people voted in the first round of Brazil’s presidential election. Shortly after the polls closed, the results came in the same day! In Detroit, Philadelphia, California and many other US cities and states, where the turnout is so low, it takes weeks to count, I mean to tamper with the results. The voting system in America is corrupt!!!”
It should be noted that what was said about India was wrong for more reasons than one. The President of India is not elected by nationwide direct voting; Instead, the president is chosen by an electoral college. This body consists of elected members of both the Houses of Parliament and elected members of the Assemblies of States and Union Territories. The election is conducted by single transferable vote under the proportional representation system.
During general elections in India, voters directly elect members of the Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament) and state legislatures. The President then appoints the Prime Minister (usually the leader of the party or coalition with the majority in the Lok Sabha), while the Governors appoint the Chief Minister (usually the leader of the party or coalition with the majority in the state legislature). There were about 980 million registered voters in India for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.