Brazil's president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during a press conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Oct 29, 2022. (CARL DE SOUZA / AFP)

BRASILIA/SAO PAULO/RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazil's president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has appointed his running mate Geraldo Alckmin to head the transition team coordinating the handover of power with the current government of Jair Bolsonaro, said Gleisi Hoffmann, head of the Workers' Party.

"Our priority will be the budget issue, to keep the Auxilio Brasil (Help Brazil) welfare plan running and raise the minimum wage," Hoffman told reporters in Sao Paulo Tuesday.

In keeping with Lula's instructions, the transition team will also include the president of the Workers' Party and coordinator of the government program, former minister and economist Aloizio Mercadante

In keeping with Lula's instructions, the transition team will also include the president of the Workers' Party and coordinator of the government program, former minister and economist Aloizio Mercadante.

The transition process is mandated by law and does not depend on the political acceptance of the election outcome.

Bolsonaro's transition team will be headed by his chief of staff, Ciro Nogueira, leader of the Progressive Party, which is part of the "Centrao" forces comprising the majority bloc in Congress.

READ MORE: Brazil's Bolsonaro silent on Lula victory, transition talks begin

The transition teams will be headquartered at the Banco do Brasil Cultural Center in Brasilia for the two-month process in November and December.

"Vice-President(-elect) Alckmin has the legitimacy and political capacity to carry this process forward," Hoffmann said.

Alckmin, of the Brazilian Socialist Party, is a conservative who served four terms as governor of the southeast state of Sao Paulo, Brazil's richest and most populous state.

Former president Lula da Silva won the second round of presidential elections on Sunday and is set to serve a third four-year term beginning Jan 1, 2023.

Vice-President Hamilton Mourao of the current government called Alckmin to acknowledge the ruling party's defeat and pledged to work together to complete the transition. 

Avoid concession

The current President Bolsonaro on Tuesday did not concede defeat in his first public remarks since losing Sunday's election, saying protests by his supporters were the fruit of "indignation and a sense of injustice" over the vote.

However, he stopped short of contesting the election result and authorized his chief of staff to begin the transition process with representatives of Lula.

ALSO READ: Close contest sets up Brazil runoff vote

It took Bolsonaro, a right-wing nationalist, more than 44 hours to comment after the election was decided by electoral authorities, with the delay raising fears he would seek to cast doubt on the narrow result.

Amid his silence, supporters blocked highways to protest his defeat, with some calling for a military coup to stop former president Lula from returning to power.

The highway blockades have disrupted fuel distribution, supermarket supplies, and the flow of grains exports to major ports, according to industry groups. 

In his brief national address, Bolsonaro joked that journalists would miss him, thanked those who voted for him and said he would abide by the constitution, which stipulates a transition of power on Jan 1.

Supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro demonstrate during a partial blockade on Castelo Branco highway, on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Nov 1, 2022. (CAIO GUATELLI / AFP)

"The current popular movements are the fruit of indignation and a sense of injustice about the way the electoral process took place," he said.

He said protesters should avoid destroying property or "impeding the right to come and go," but did not tell them to return home.

"Bolsonaro has not put out this fire. He spoke to his hardcore supporters without criticizing the demonstrators on the highways," said political risk analyst Andre Cesar at Hold Legislative Advisors in Brasilia. "He is keeping his more extremist followers mobilized."

Karina Laurinda, 34, who took part in highway demonstrations outside of Sao Paulo, said she would keep protesting.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro (right) arrives to speak from his official residence of Alvorada Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Nov 1, 2022. (ERALDO PERES / AP)

Bolsonaro did not directly repeat those claims on Tuesday. But his reference to "injustice" in the electoral process showed he had learned from the post-presidency of US president Donald Trump, his ideological ally, according to Leonardo Barreto, political analyst at Vector Consultancy in Brasilia

"Even if he says to calm down, not to react, we're still going to react because we won't accept a Lula government," she said.

During a meeting later on Tuesday between Bolsonaro and several Supreme Court justices, the president acknowledged clearly that Lula had won the election, according to two of the justices who took part.

"It cleared the air, without a doubt. It seemed to turn the page," said one of the judges, who requested anonymity to discuss the meeting frankly.

"The message was: game over," said the other judge. "He didn't criticize the electoral system or the courts."

ALSO READ: Brazil votes in tense Lula-Bolsonaro presidential contest

Before Sunday's vote, Bolsonaro repeatedly made baseless claims that the electoral system was open to fraud and accused electoral authorities of favoring his leftist adversary.

Bolsonaro did not directly repeat those claims on Tuesday. But his reference to "injustice" in the electoral process showed he had learned from the post-presidency of US president Donald Trump, his ideological ally, according to Leonardo Barreto, political analyst at Vector Consultancy in Brasilia.

Trump has continued to repeat false claims that the 2020 US election was "stolen" by widespread fraud and retains a significant core of supporters who believe them.

"He is going to copy Trump for the next four years to keep his conservative movement alive," said Barreto, forecasting that the 2026 election would be a rematch between Bolsonaro and Lula's Workers Party.

READ MORE: Bolsonaro says to respect Brazil poll result if 'clean, transparent'

Lula's victory represents a stunning comeback for the 77-year-old former metalworker, who spent 19 months in jail for corruption convictions before they were annulled last year.

Lula has vowed to overturn many of Bolsonaro's policies, including pro-gun measures and weak protection of the Amazon rainforest. His aides confirmed on Tuesday that he would attend this month's COP27 United Nations climate summit in Egypt.