The Brazilian elections next Sunday, October 2 and the electronic voting system are safe, assured the president of the Inter-American Union of Electoral Organizations (UNIORE), Lorenzo Córdova, in an exclusive interview with Peninsula 360 Press and Global Exchange.
The also president counselor of the National Electoral Institute (INE) of Mexico, said that in a few days a technical report made by UNIORE to evaluate the reliability of electronic voting in Brazil will be released.
"In a couple of days we will present the technical report of the UNIORE mission that conducted a survey and issued a report on the electronic ballot box, which reveals the certainty and strength of this mechanism to generate certainty in the casting of the vote," said Córdova.
Electronic elections are not new in Brazil; in fact, they have been in use since 1996 and Brazilian electoral authorities have been able to perfect over time the use of this mechanism for Brazilians to exercise their vote.
The certainty given by UNIORE to electronic voting becomes relevant in the context of the statements made by Jair Bolsonaro, current president and candidate for reelection, in which he has pointed out that elections are not reliable and that it is possible to intervene the software to generate electoral fraud. However, several studies and investigations by Brazilian electoral authorities point to the reliability of the voting system.
"I believe it will be a great day for Brazilian democracy and the democratic path will be vindicated as the path that Brazilians have been building for 30 years, as the legitimate way to go out and vote. And the electronic ballot box will be vindicated as a mechanism of electoral certainty that Brazilians have been testing election after election since 1996 as a mechanism of certainty and legal strength", said Lorenzo Córdova.
In his most recent statements, Jair Bolsonaro has questioned the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) and the electronic voting itself, pointing out that the ballots should be printed; moreover, the current president has stated in recent weeks that the armed forces should participate in the electoral process as a referee.
According to polls from at least 9 companies, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is ahead of Bolsonaro three days before the elections. According to Ipec/Globo, Lula has obtained 48 percent of the respondents' voting intention and Bolsonaro 31 percent; according to Datafloha/folha the difference is smaller as the Workers' Party candidate has 47 percent of the preferences against 33 percent of the current president.
This article was produced with the support of the organization Global Exchange in collaboration with Peninsula 360 Press.
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