Dated: 17/08/2022
Dear Editor
Dhaka Opinion Magazine
Dhaka
Presidential elections in Brazil are going to be held in the coming year. Recently, the running president Jair Bolsonaro, who is against the electronic voting machines, has blamed that such machines are vulnerable to electoral manipulations. He called foreign diplomats to the presidential palace and blamed the usage of voting machines in elections. Electoral officials and political leaders heavily criticized the claims made by the president as unfounded. But it also raised a cause of concern among many political leaders regarding the intention of the President in elections. In perceiving his possible attempt to discredit the electoral process and results of the upcoming elections by the President, opposition parties and political leaders have already started to protest to such a claim.
Voting machines have been used in Brazil since the 1996 elections. But, according to multiple newspapers, there was no manipulation of electoral voting machines. Indeed, national congress and different political leaders claim that the electronic ballot boxes, which have a solid track record, will give the country a faithful representation of the people’s wishes. Yet, the president, who is in favor of paper ballots rather than electoral voting machines, has previously questioned the trustworthiness of electronic ballot boxes in the presidential elections in 2018 which he won. Moreover, he later tried to pass a law mandating a return to paper ballots, which was ruled unconstitutional in 2020. He made another effort to include paper ballots along with the electronic votes that was rejected by congress a year later.
Recently, the Brazilian president has frequently talked about his claims of the vulnerability of voting machines and favor for paper ballots in a series of interviews, broadcasts and meetings with supporters, thousands of whom demonstrated in support of Bolsonaro’s call to change the voting system of the country. But his efforts to add paper ballots along with voting machines are not unjust at all but many are of the view that the upcoming elections may lead to violence. This is probably because of the possibility of losing the elections by the running president, if he decides to compete, against the former president and left-wing candidate Lula de Silva. Indeed, recent opinion polls clearly show such a possibility by a big margin.
Given that there are rising criticisms from the concerned authorities especially electoral officials and the Supreme Electoral Court in Brazil, it is probably understandable that the presidential elections are less likely to be manipulated. Yet, it is desired that electoral results are neither manipulated nor undermined. Thus, the concerned political leaders and authorities need to play their roles so that elections are credible and credible elections are not undermined in Brazil. It is also desired that the upcoming presidential elections reflect the will of Brazilians, no matter whether elections are held with voting machines or with voting machines and paper ballots.
Yours sincerely,
Mr. A
City D
Country X
Email: x@yahoo.com
DISCLAIMER: The views/opinions expressed are those of the LTE authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Magazine or its editorial team.
