Ruben Dario Ramirez Lezcano, head of the Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) attended a press conference in Sao Paulo on Wednesday, where he discussed the EOM’s procedures for auditing Brazil’s electoral process during the upcoming presidential elections.
The EOM head told journalists that he had already been engaged in important conversations with presidential hopeful Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s PT (worker’s party).
“Today we had the opportunity to speak with the leadership of the PT and important representatives of the party, in our agenda of conversation with all candidates, with the parties and with the social and civil organizations of Brazil with the objective of observing the elections,” Lezcano said.
“Considering the importance that this election has for democracy, not only for Brazil but for the continent, the conversation was very important, we know the point of view of the PT and we are going to continue this agenda on Sunday together with the other candidates, the TSE (Superior Electoral Court ), we are going to have a meeting with the TSE, and that will allow us to make recommendations to the Brazilian authorities,” he added.
This is the third time the EOM has observed elections in Brazil, having previously produced reports in 2020 and 2018. The watchdog group will be observing pre-election, voting day and post-election procedures.
Areas of scrutiny include overseas voting, women’s political participation, participation of indigenous and Afro-descendant groups, potential electoral violence, freedom of expression and more.
According to Lezcano, who is also the former Chancellor of Paraguay, his team currently has 55 experts from 17 different countries stationed in several states across Brazil.
