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On Tuesday (01/11), international observers assigned by the Organization of American States (OAS) to monitor the elections in Brazil issued their preliminary report on the voting in the country. They highlighted the security and efficiency of the polls and praised the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) and the country’s electoral system. In the document, observers also confirmed the victory of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, without posing any kind of questioning about the results of the second round.
Problems With Operations by the Federal Road Police (PRF)
The observers indicated that the mission became aware of different public complaints, in the media and on social networks, about alleged delays in the transport of voters in some areas of the country, particularly in the Northeast, due to PRF operations, in which public buses were stopped or traffic was interrupted, even though Superior Electoral Court (TSE) President Alexandre de Moraes issued an order for the PRF to do not carry out any operation that would delay people that were moving to polling stations. Later, Justice and Public Security Minister Anderson Torres stated that the operations would be investigated.
Political Violence
Political violence was one of the negative aspects of the electoral process in Brazil, according to the mission. The group indicated that it received reports on 103 politicians victims of violence since the beginning of the electoral campaign, as well as 14 cases of political-party violence, and 11 cases of aggression due to political intolerance towards LGBT+ candidates.
Electoral Harassment
Another negative aspect highlighted was the large number of complaints received by the Public Ministry of Labor (MPT) for cases of electoral harassment involving businessmen, public servants and other figures in positions of power who allegedly tried to influence, intimidate or coerce employees and subordinates to vote for a particular candidate.
Two days before the second round, the Public Ministry of Labor (MPT) had received a total of 2,076 complaints, a volume almost ten times greater than that received during the 2018 elections.
Fake News
According to the OAS, in the future, the greatest challenges for the Brazilian democracy will be dealing with disinformation. In terms of campaign content, once again the weeks leading up to the election were marked by the mass dissemination of false information.
The OAS informed that, in 2022, the scale and speed with which disinformation is spread has increased considerably. According to the TSE, the volume of complaints received about this phenomenon grew by 1,671% compared to the 2020 election period.
For the OAS, disinformation aimed at undermining the legitimacy and credibility of electoral processes, generating confusion regarding the voting process or promoting violence represents a serious risk for democracies in the region.
