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On Wednesday (15/06), Defense Minister General Paulo Sérgio Nogueira de Oliveira sent a letter to the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) in which he proposes a meeting between technical teams from the Court and the Armed Forces. According to the military, the meeting will serve to “settle any technical differences” that would have arisen in the work of the Commission for the Transparency of Elections (CTE). It will also be the place to “discuss the proposals presented by the Armed Forces.” The CTE was created last year to increase transparency and security at all stages of preparation and conduct of elections. The Military and other institutions are part of the commission.
Exchange of Letters
In recent weeks, the TSE and the Defense Minister exchanged official letters on questions raised by the Armed Forces regarding the voting system. On Friday (10/06), Nogueira sent a letter to the TSE about the court’s technical responses regarding the electoral system and claimed that it was still not possible to discuss the Armed Forces’ proposals. On the occasion, the minister said that the Armed Forces do not feel “duly prestigious” by the TSE. On Monday (13/06), the Superior Electoral Court President Edson Fachin sent a letter to the portfolio in which he said he had “high regard” for the Armed Forces and that dialogue is necessary to strengthen democracy.
Accusations and Request for Parallel Vote Counting
Since last year, President Jair Bolsonaro has accused the electronic voting method of being prone to frauds and that it has already been defrauded. He has also supported the idea to implement a parallel vote counting by the Armed Forces, which suggested the measure in the CTE. Also, on Monday (13/06), TSE Minister Fachin called the demand “undue” and said that a parallel counting already exists, since the court will make available, on the internet and with wide dissemination, the ballot boxes bulletins in their original format.
On Tuesday (15/06), Minister Alexandre de Moraes was elected the Superior Electoral Court President. He will take office on August 16th and will lead the October elections.