The technical commission in charge of carrying out an exhaustive audit of the CNE’s Automated Voting System (SAV) has informed at a press conference that the software that will be used for the November 21 elections is robust, and its security is fully guaranteed.
Presenting a report on the first phase of the audit of the automated voting system of Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE), Professor Robinson Rivas of Simón Bolívar University, affirmed that, thus far, the audit has shown satisfactory results.
Rivas, who is part of the audit team, explained that there has been no international support for this audit; instead, a group of ten academics and experts, representing various states in the country, have taken part in it. The software revision audit started on June 14.
#AlMomento Rueda de prensa para presentar balance de la primera fase de la Auditoría Integral del Sistema Automatizado de Votación, a cargo de los 10 académicos, científicos, expertos que desde el 14 de junio se encuentran revisando el software de la máquina de votación pic.twitter.com/oUGUnwPVDM
— cneesvenezuela (@cneesvzla) July 2, 2021
“All the auditors are satisfied with the work,” commented Rivas. ”The CNE technical staff has responded satisfactorily to all our questions and doubts, and we have had complete freedom to change the order of the tasks whenever necessary.”
Rivas added that there are still two more stages to carry out in which both data transmission and machine production software will be evaluated. The voting machine and the fingerprint scanner will also be reviewed.
Analyst Emilio Hernández, who holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Southampton, England, stressed that the revised software is already quite solid, and only minimal recommendations have been made for its improvement.
Emilio Hernández, Doctor en Ciencias de la computación de la Universidad de Southampton de Inglaterra, destaca la madurez de la institución de llevar a cabo procesos electorales de forma automatizado.
El sistema electoral venezolano tiene garantías de seguridad. pic.twitter.com/q6FLXytWtT— cneesvenezuela (@cneesvzla) July 2, 2021
“Our responsibility is to see that the software works properly,” stated Hernández. The CNE has been very receptive in relation to our methodology.“
Hernández also described as excellent the security guarantees of the software, its ease of use, and the secure vote counting mechanisms. In addition, he commended the CNE for its mature disposition towards the implementation of the automated electoral mechanisms.
Both Rivas and Hernández agreed that, after conducting the first audit, the software is up to par.
The next stage of the audit is expected to begin on July 6.
Featured image: CNE holds press conference with the ten academics in charge of the first phase of the voting software audit. Photo: Twitter/ @cneesvzla
(RedRadioVe) by Ana Perdigón
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/GMS/SC
