Topic: 2025-Preserving Free and Fair Elections
Country: Brazil
Delegate Name: William Monroe
Topic: 2025-Preserving Free and Fair Elections
Country: Brazil
Delegate Name: William Monroe
As the largest democracy in Latin America, Brazil recognizes the importance of preserving free and fair elections as the cornerstone of a democratic nation. The Brazilian electoral process puts an emphasis on maintaining stability, representation, and the protection of the rights of Brazilian citizens. Brazil’s adoption of electronic voting machines (known as urnas eletrônicas) in 1996 was a landmark development in ensuring transparency in our electoral process. Electronic voting machines have significantly reduced incidences of fraud, streamlined vote counting, and increased public trust in electoral outcomes throughout Brazil since their introduction. Not only has Brazil implemented quick, safe, and secure methods of voting like electronic voting machines, but Brazil has also elected a unique government body known as the “Tribunal Superior Eleitoral” or TSE. The TSE serves as a specialized government body overseeing the whole electoral process, ensuring accountability and further protecting against fraudulent electoral practices. Despite many of Brazil’s advances in electoral security, our elections were thrown into question amid a sea of misinformation and even attempts to undermine confidence in the electoral process of brazil as a whole. To help alleviate this, Brazil has implemented legislation to criminalize the spread of false information, as well as promoting partnerships between the TSE and social media platforms.
Recognizing that freedom in elections is of paramount importance to maintaining freedom in citizenry, Brazil recommends that the U.N takes steps to implement a resolution very similar to the previous actions taken by Brazil and many other countries. Brazil proposes the creation of an international fund with the purpose of assisting countries in developing newer, safer electoral infrastructure. Funds from this program could go towards (but is not limited to) helping underdeveloped countries install electronic voting machines in populated areas, as well as technical support and training for government officials. Building off of our own success with electoral monitoring programs, brazil calls for the U.N. to expand electoral surveillance led by the United Nations and regional organizations. These programs should focus on providing technical assistance, verifying election results, and fostering confidence in electoral processes. Brazil hopes that countries will be incentivized to work with these programs off the merit of their clear benefit to their people, and does not believe that further incentives besides those already defined are necessary. As a final effort, Brazil would like to call for the United Nations to endorse and assist with any government programs that allow for the prosecution of those who spread misinformation, recognizing that the key to a truly free and fair election is an educated, not a misled populus. Further to that end, brazil would favor the creation of a multinational U.N task force comprising experts in cybersecurity, media, and electoral management. This task force would develop guidelines for identifying and countering disinformation campaigns and promote partnerships with social media platforms to ensure transparency in political advertising.
