BRASILIA (Reuters) -More than 20 hours after losing the election to his fierce leftist adversary, Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has yet to say one word publicly, but he is expected to break his silence on Monday afternoon.
The head of an allied party, Claudio Cajado, said Bolsonaro's aides want him to read a text about the election, but it is not certain that he will concede defeat.
Brazil is on edge, with pro-Bolsonaro truckers setting up roadblocks in 12 Brazilian states.
The president has barely been seen since Sunday night, and he has kept total silence - an unusual stance for the normally voluble leader who likes to talk live and post constantly on social media, much like his political role model former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Bolsonaro's unusual silence raised concerns that he was planning to contest the narrow victory by former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Sunday's runoff vote. International election observers and diplomats said they did not doubt that Brazil's democratic institutions will prevail.
Time is running out to dispute the election result as many international leaders, political allies and high-profile supporters have already recognized Lula's victory.
Bolsonaro's former infrastructure minister Tarcisio de Freitas, elected to be governor of Brazil's largest state Sao Paulo, said that congratulating Lula was part of democracy and he hoped the president-elect would govern for all Brazilians.
The outgoing president has yet to call his rival to congratulate him on becoming Brazil's president-elect.
(Reporting by Anthony Boadle and Ricardo Brito; Editing by Josie Kao and Alistair Bell)
