Hernán Penagos Giraldo, Colombia's national civil registrar, was designated head of the International Electoral Observation Mission of the Inter-American Union of Electoral Organizations (UNIORE) for Brazil's 2026 general elections. ^[1] Former Colombian president Gustavo Petro led a campaign of discrediting Colombia's voting system during the last elections, spreading unproven fraud alerts and refusing to recognize the first-round preliminary count. ^[2] Penagos and Brazil's Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) president, minister Kassio Nunes Marques, signed a memorandum of understanding guaranteeing free deployment of international observers for the elections. ^[3] The main presidential candidates are Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, seeking reelection, and Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, representing the right. ^[4] Hernán Penagos will lead the first UNIORE advance team to Brazil to oversee the election process and ensure transparency. ^[5] The Brazilian electoral census includes approximately 160 million citizens, and the election will involve the selection of more than 1,650 positions. ^[6] The UNIORE International Observation Mission will observe the Brazilian presidential election scheduled to take place on October 4. ^[7] Penagos will lead the Inter-American Union of Electoral Bodies (UNIORE), an entity that brings together electoral bodies from 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, alongside the Brazilian Superior Electoral Court. ^[8] The agreement for Penagos to lead the mission was ratified on a Tuesday in Brazil after the president of the Brazilian Superior Electoral Court and the Colombian National Electoral Registrar signed an understanding agreement. ^[9] The Brazilian general elections are scheduled for October 4 and involve the election of more than 1,650 positions, including president, vice president, governors, senators, and federal deputies. ^[10]