President Bolsonaro: Armed Forces will not interfere in elections

President Jair Bolsonaro said on Thursday (Apr. 12), during a live streaming on social media, the Armed Forces will not interfere in the elections. The statement was in response to the head of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) Edson Fachin, who had criticized attempts to discredit the Brazilian electoral system.

The President said he does not know based on what Fachin thinks the Armed Forces want to interfere in the Electoral Justice. “There is no interference, nobody wants to impose anything, nobody wants to attack the polls, attack Democracy, none of that. There are no acts Against democracy. For God's sake! The transparency in the elections...is a matter of national security," Bolsonaro added.

Hours earlier, during a visit to the TSE room where security tests are being carried out on electronic voting machines, Minister Edson Fachin criticized the attempts to raise suspicion about electronic voting machines.

"It's the unarmed forces that deal with the elections and, therefore, they concern the civilian population, which freely and consciously chooses their representatives. So, dialogue, yes, collaboration, yes, but the final word belongs to the Electoral Justice," Fachin said.

Since last year, the Armed Forces are part of the Electoral Transparency Commission (CTE), created by TSE itself, which involves different bodies. Its purpose is to give even more transparency to the electoral process. Military members have made a series of suggestions to the Court about the electoral process, some of which were accepted and others were not incorporated by the court.

"On October 2, Brazil will have clean, safe, peaceful and secure elections. No one and nothing will interfere with the Electoral Justice. We do not admit any circumstance that prevents Brazilians from expressing themselves," Fachin stated.