Brazil drops out of monitoring Venezuela election

Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE) has decided to withdraw from the mission of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) that will monitor the parliament election in Venezuela, slated for December. In a statement, the court said its decision followed the rejection of Nelson Jobim, former Brazilian minister and former TSE president, as head of the mission.

The court said Jobim had been chosen because he is a public figure “with extensive knowledge of the election proceedings and recognized unbiased judgment”. The nomination, according to the court's note, had been approved by Brazil's presidency and submitted by the Foreign Ministry to the rotating chair of UNASUR, which is currently held by Uruguay. “While Brazil's candidate has gained broad support among Member States, he was rejected as the final choice to head the mission, allegedly by a veto from Venezuelan authorities.”

The note went on to explained that the court had been planning to carry out the mission of monitoring the elections in an “objective, fair, and comprehensive” way in accordance with rules agreed by UNASUR and Venezuela's Electoral Council. It claimed that a delay of the Council to announce a new version of the agreement after the veto has also contributed to derail the plans.

“A delay by Venezuela's election authority to convey its remarks on the revised version of the agreement has precluded the mission from monitoring the auditing of the electronic voting system or begin assessing the election process for equity, which, less than two months ahead of the elections, impairs appropriate observation,” the statement read.

Translated by Mayra Borges