Brazil invites election observers on record scale as Bolsonaro stirs doubts

FILE PHOTO: Former Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, pre-candidate for the presidency of the Republic speaks during an event called "Contagem abraca Lula" (Contagem hugs Lula), in Contagem, Minas Gerais state, Brazil, May 10, 2022. REUTERS/Washington Alves

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil is preparing to receive a record number of international observers for its October election, according to electoral authorities and participating organizations, amid a polarized presidential race in which President Jair Bolsonaro has questioned the reliability of electronic voting machines.

Bolsonaro's government objected to an invitation last month extended by Brazilian electoral authorities to the European Union to send observers for the first time, sinking that proposal.