Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro said Tuesday he would "comply" with the constitution in a short speech that did not reference his election loss to rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
However, his chief of staff Ciro Nogueira took to the podium to say Bolsonaro had "authorised" the "transition" process.
The announcement came hours after Bolsonaro supporters blocked major highways for a second day as tensions mounted over his silence after narrowly losing re-election to bitter rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro delay in conceding defeat had fanned concerns he may try and challenge the result after months of attacking the electoral system as fraudulent.
Federal Highway Police (PRF) reported more than 250 total or partial road blockages in at least 23 states by Bolsonaro supporters, while local media said protests outside the country's main international airport in Sao Paulo delayed passengers and led to several flights being cancelled.
Protesters wearing the yellow and green of the Brazilian flag -- which the outgoing president has adopted as his own -- said they would not accept the outcome of the election.
They continued to protest even after the Bolsanaro announcement.
Jair Bolsonaro has not made any public declarations since the election result was announced. Photo: AFP"We will not accept losing what we have gained, we want what is written on our flag, 'order and progress'. We will not accept the situation as it is," Antoniel Almeida, 45, told AFP at a protest in Barra Mansa, Rio de Janeiro.
On Monday night Judge Alexander de Moraes of the Supreme Court ordered police to disperse the blockades immediately. He was acting in response to a request by a transport federation that complained it was losing business.
Lula gets to work
The mounting tension follows a dirty and divisive election campaign between the hardline conservative Bolsonaro and his nemesis Lula, who returns to office in a dramatic comeback.
Brazil's president between 2003 and 2010, Lula crashed into disgrace in a corruption scandal that landed him in jail before his conviction was thrown out due to bias from the lead judge. However, he was not exonerated.
The election outcome showed just how polarized the country is between the two very different leaders.
Lula scored 50.9 percent to Bolsonaro's 49.1 percent -- the narrowest margin in Brazil's modern history.
With a massive to-do list, Lula leapt into action, meeting Argentine President Alberto Fernandez in Sao Paulo and holding a series of phone calls with US President Joe Biden, France's Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Olaf Scholz, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and others.