The president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, received today (30), at the National Congress, a foreign delegation from the International Guest Program for the 2022 General Elections.
The delegation includes electoral authorities, representatives of international organizations and professionals from the foreign press. Its 87 participants from 26 countries were received in a ceremony on the Senate floor. In his speech, Pacheco highlighted the country’s commitment to democracy and defended Brazilian electronic voting machines.
In the solemn session, Pacheco explained the democratic pillars of the country, erected in the 1988 Constitution, represented by the direct, secret, universal and periodic vote; the separation of Powers; and individual rights and guarantees.
“Democracy, therefore, is the impregnable commitment of our system. Within the logical limits of this regime, Brazilian institutions have worked to improve it even more, and society, every year, reinforces its adherence to it”, he said.
Calculation speed
Then he spoke of the electronic voting machine in a complimentary and proud tone. The equipment has been used in the country since 1996 and revolutionized the way of counting and the speed of counting votes in the country. “[A urna eletrônica] made possible a rigorous, transparent and quick investigation, essential for the elections to have uncontested results. The electronic voting machine, along with other mechanisms developed by the Electoral Justice, constitutes a pillar of Brazilian democracy. And I repeat: it is a source of great national pride”, he stressed.
The president of Congress also dedicated part of his speech to talk about the Senate’s performance in 2022. He mentioned, among others, the approval of projects to combat covid-19, the environmental agenda and the creation of a commission to monitor the murder investigations the indigenist Bruno Araújo Pereira and the British journalist Dom Phillips.
At the end of the ceremony, the group of international guests took a guided tour of the National Congress. The group, which came to Brazil at the invitation of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), also participated in a series of lectures promoted by the Court.
Among the authorities and personalities invited are members of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (Idea Internacional). They are: former president of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla; the former vice president of Colombia, Marta Lucía Ramírez; Uruguayan senator Mónica Xavier; Secretary General Kevin Casas-Zamora; and regional director for Latin America, Daniel Zovatto. Guests from Portugal, Russia, France and Spain are also in Brazil.
