Venezuelan voting machine and paper ballot box using for elections. File photo.
On Friday, October 8, Pedro Calzadilla, president of the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela, announced that 90% of the work regarding the deployment and reception of materials to be used in the mock election this Sunday, October 10, is complete.
During a CNE press conference, Calzadilla informed that 446 voting centers and 1,386 polling stations will be enabled throughout Venezuela for the electoral drill. The mock vote is part of the electoral cycle schedule for the regional and municipal elections to be held on November 21.
El presidente del Poder Electoral, Pedro Calzadilla, informó que ya alcanza un 90% el despliegue y recepción de materiales y equipos en los 446 centros de votación habilitados en todo el país de cara al Simulacro de Votación que se celebrará este domingo 10 de octubre. pic.twitter.com/hJEe9r2ZTN
— cneesvenezuela (@cneesvzla) October 7, 2021
Calzadilla explained that more than 3,000 officials will be deployed for the drill, who will also be in charge of ensuring the compliance of participants to biosafety regulations.
The mock vote will take place from 7:00 in the morning to 4:00 in the afternoon and will be monitored by international observers from the Latin American Council of Electoral Experts (CEELA) and the Carter Center, amongst others.
Six states, namely Miranda, Nueva Esparta, Yaracuy, La Guaira, Anzoátegui and Caracas, will function as “pilot states,” where the mock election will be carried out comprehensively, that is, the procedure to be followed will be same as the actual election.
Ubica cuáles son los centros habilitados en Dtto. Capital para el simulacro electoral del 10 de octubre, de cara a los comicios regionales y municipales del próximo 21 de noviembre.☝🏼 pic.twitter.com/V4l7Ix3ICf
— cneesvenezuela (@cneesvzla) October 7, 2021
“The drill allows the CNE to test the voting system in its different operational phases, its security, speed and voting time, among others things,” explained Calzadilla. “This exercise is also important for the citizens as voters can become familiar with the electoral process and the components of the system.”
Advances in the electoral schedule
Calzadilla stressed that, to date, the schedule of the November 21 regional and municipal elections is 79% complete.
He further informed that the preparation and printing of the voting booklets and the assembly of electoral paraphernalia, as well as the voting machine data generation are currently being carried out.
Este simulacro forma parte de las actividades programadas por el CNE para comprobar el funcionamiento de la plataforma tecnológica y del sistema de votación que será utilizado en los venideros comicios.🗳️
No dejes pasar esta fecha tan importante para el destino de la nación.🇻🇪
— cneesvenezuela (@cneesvzla) October 8, 2021
Data generation would verify the integrity of the voting data and guarantee that there is no fingerprint duplication.
“We are working hard to carry out the November 21 elections flawlessly,” Calzadilla added.
He also informed that the phase I audit of electoral data (ADES) will begin on Monday, October 11, to verify whether the collected fingerprints correspond to those of voters in the National Electoral Registry.
Featured image: CNE will hold mock vote in Venezuela on October 10. File photo
(RedRadioVE) by Ana Perdigón
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/GMS/SC
