The Minister of Justice and Public Security, Anderson Torres, declared today (28) that, from a security point of view, Brazil is prepared to guarantee citizens the right to vote this Sunday (30), in the second round of this year’s elections. . The statement was made at the headquarters of the Federal Highway Police (PRF), in Brasília, at a press conference called to talk about Operation Elections 2022.
“We are prepared for the second round of the elections, from the point of view of public security. The Brazilian people will be able to vote peacefully next Sunday,” said the minister. According to him, the objective of the operation is “to maintain tranquility and guarantee that the people can freely exercise their right to vote”. In this sense, all security forces – federal and state – “are on the same page”, he pointed out.
Asked about the possibility of postponing the elections, Torres said that the matter was not addressed in the conversations he had with President Jair Bolsonaro, candidate for reelection. “There was no such conversation,” he said.
electoral crimes
“Federal forces are ready, with planning underway as part of the prevention of electoral crimes across the country,” Torres said, noting that the authorities are focusing “on two crimes that drew attention” during the first round: the mouth of ballot box and vote buying.
“We had more than R$10 million seized by the police in the first round. The information is that they were resources used to buy votes, a type of crime that mortally wounds the right to free vote of Brazilians. This will not be tolerated”, said the minister, informing that he will have a staff of around 500,000 police officers, including military, civilian, federal and federal highway police.
Torres guaranteed that the security forces will also act to comply with the decision of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) to guarantee free and safe transport for voters.
The minister informed that, in addition to the traditional reporting channels, the Federal Highway Police’s 191 telephone number was made available. “This channel is open for all types of complaints.”
“State police officers have their plans, especially in large centers. We will give all the support we can, as we have always done to the states, to contain all types of violence and illegal demonstrations,” he added.
According to Anderson Torres, on election day, starting at 9 am, bulletins will be released every two hours, updating the occurrences registered throughout the country. Regarding the post-election period, the minister said that, generally, the resolution of any type of riot is in charge of the state police, which are prepared for it. “PRF and PF will also be prepared for any calls,” he added.
