The president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Minister Alexandre de Moraes, and commanders of the Military Police of the states met this Wednesday (23), in Brasília. For about five hours, Moraes and representatives of 26 of the 27 federative units discussed the actions that the public security forces of the states and the Federal District carried out during the 2022 general elections.
According to the secretary general of the National Council of General Commanders (CNCG), lieutenant colonel of the Bahia Military Police, José Luís Santos Silva, the conversation took place in a “very calm, friendly atmosphere”. Silva told Brazil Agency that the meeting was requested by Moraes and also served to evaluate “ideas for planning future elections”.
“We are going to start developing an improvement for the next elections, but this is still in terms of intentions”, said the military police officer, explaining that, for the time being, there are no plans for meetings to deal with the matter. “That will be left for us to discuss at an opportune moment”.
PM commanders from just three states did not respond to Moraes’ invitation, but the corporations from Santa Catarina and Paraná sent representatives, unlike the Military Police from Rio Grande do Norte, the only one absent from the meeting.
In a note, the TSE informed that, when taking stock of the actions that the military police carried out during the elections, Moraes highlighted the importance of the initiatives carried out to guarantee the integrity of the election and the safety of the voters, poll workers and Electoral Justice servants must be expanded through “constant dialogue, investments and actions [conjuntas] between the Electoral Justice and public security bodies”.
Also according to the TSE, during the meeting Moraes thanked the efforts of the security forces, highlighting the commitment of these institutions to democracy.
In recognition of the contribution of the military police, the president of the TSE announced that he will award the Assis Brasil Order of Merit medal to the National Council of General Commanders. The TSE pays homage to civil and military personalities, national and foreign, who have rendered relevant services to the Electoral Justice and to democracy in their respective areas of action.
Since assuming the presidency of the TSE in mid-August, Moraes has already met with commanders of the military police on at least two other occasions. The first just 8 days after being sworn in. The second, on October 11, after the first round of elections had taken place.
During the second meeting with the commanders, the minister commented on the importance of measures that the TSE approved this year, such as banning voters from carrying weapons within a 100-meter radius of polling places and the obligation to leave their cell phones with poll workers before heading to the polling booth. On the same occasion, Moraes declared that the PMs had “acted in accordance with the rules and regulations, having a strong, present and discreet performance, without truculence”.
