Brazil Senator Asks Foreign Envoys for Election Observers Amid Transparency Concerns

Senator Flávio Bolsonaro has called on foreign ambassadors to deploy a significant number of observers to Brazil's upcoming October elections, citing concerns over transparency and the integrity of the voting system. During a meeting in Brasília organized by Novo Selo Comunicação and The Brazilian Report, Bolsonaro requested that countries send observers with expertise in technology.

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I am not questioning the Brazilian election system, but that all countries can send the largest number of observers possible to our election and people who have knowledge about this technology.

Bolsonaro referenced a CIA document alleging manipulation in Venezuela's 2010 elections, linking the company Smartmatic to these suspicions. He noted that some machines used in Brazil share origins with this company. However, Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE) has previously refuted such claims, stating in 2020 that Smartmatic does not supply voting machines or software used in Brazil. The TSE asserts that the electronic voting system is entirely designed and managed by Brazil's Electoral Justice.

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One of the suspicions is that a company called Smartmatic, of Venezuelan origin, one of the suspicions is that there was a programming to alter the votes in that country in the 2010 elections.

Adding to the context, Bolsonaro mentioned that his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, became ineligible following a meeting with diplomats. He framed his father's situation as a consequence of expressing concerns about the transparency and security of the electoral system to ambassadors. This appeal for international observation comes amid ongoing political discussions surrounding electoral processes in Brazil.

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Are false the messages circulating on social networks according to which the company Smartmatic supplies electronic voting machines or software used in voting machines in Brazil. The entire design of the Brazilian electronic voting machine and the electronic voting system was conceived and is managed entirely by the Electoral Justice of the country.