US President Donald Trump appeared to confuse India with Brazil in a Truth Social post in which he claimed that 125 million people had voted in an Indian presidential election and used the supposed speed of the results to attack the US electoral system.
“125 Million People voted today in the first round of India’s Presidential Election. The results came out shortly after the vote closed, on the SAME DAY!” Trump said in the post.
“In Detroit, Philadelphia, California, and numerous other US Cities and States, the results, with much smaller numbers, will often take weeks to Rig, I mean, calculate. Voting in America is CORRUPT,” he added.
Trump's reference appeared to be to Brazil, which held the first round of its presidential election on Sunday. Brazil recorded more than 125 million valid votes, according to the country's Superior Electoral Court (TSE), and the results were released progressively after voting ended at 5 pm.
The Brazilian election is headed for a runoff between incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, after neither candidate secured more than half of the valid votes. The runoff is scheduled for October 25.
There was no presidential election in India on Sunday. President Droupadi Murmu, who took office in July 2022, is the country's current president.
Unlike Brazil and the US, India does not elect its president through a direct nationwide vote. The President is elected by an Electoral College comprising elected members of both Houses of Parliament and elected members of the legislative assemblies of the states and Union territories through proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote.
In India's general elections, voters directly elect members of the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President, usually from the party or coalition commanding a majority in the Lok Sabha.
India had nearly 980 million registered electors in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
Trump has previously referred to India's elections while making the case for changes to the US voting system.
On August 17, Trump claimed that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had asked his administration how elections could be held in the US without a valid photo identification document.
“Earlier this month, India's Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, asked our Administration – How can you have Elections in the US without a valid Photo ID,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
He also claimed that India's last election had 646 million voters, that less than one per cent voted by mail and that every voter had a valid photo identity document.
Trump made the remarks while urging Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote, impose a nationwide voter identification requirement and restrict voting by mail.