By Spokesman Newsroom
CARACAS, Venzeuela (Thursday 25th July 2024)- Ahead of the upcoming presidential election in Venezuela on Sunday 28th July 2024, Member of Parliament of the National Assembly José Villarroel of the Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV), who is a IT (Information Technology) technical expert, has declared that the system is “fraud proof”, “democratic” and “totally transparent”. In a session held on Thursday 26th July 2024, held at the Teatro Principal in Caracas, he told scores of international visitors consisting of observers and accompanying guests (including journalists) for the elections that the system is reliable and secure.
General Secretary of the St. Kitts-Nevis Trades and Labour Union (SKNT&LU) Precious Mills ,who is also the editor of this publication, is among the visitors. As understood, voter identification cards and fingerprints of voters are part of the electoral system also.
“Any person 18 [and over] can participate in the electoral [voting]… no one is forced. It is a right [to vote] not an obligation. This is the main mission that the electoral powers have,” the IT expert stated. He stated that 99.98% of the time, there are no issues with the voting process.
Villarroel shared that even in the event of a power outage, the machines are equipped with 8-hour batteries to ensure that voting can continue seamlessly once electricity is restored. He shared that he has been involved in the electoral system process since 2006, noting it is considered “one of the best in the world” and is governed by a set of strict norms.
The registration process is open to citizens as young as 16 years old, two years before they are eligible to vote. Villarroel highlighted the various measures in place to ensure transparency, including the use of a website for voter registration and information dissemination.
He also emphasized the importance of efforts done in the past through a literacy programme by way of reaching out to rural and indigenous communities to ensure that every eligible voter has the opportunity to participate in the democratic process. As gathered, the process includes various activities such as candidate registration, technical audits, and post-election audits to maintain the integrity of the electoral process.
The presenter expressed that the system has a high level of accuracy in matching voters with their ballots. In response to a question about ballot spoilage, Villarroel explained that the voting machines display images of the candidates on the screen and prompt the voter to confirm their selection before casting their ballot.
This, he said, helps to ensure that the voter’s intention is accurately recorded. Overall, the official stressed that the electoral system in Venezuela is based on total transparency and national service, in accordance with the country’s Constitution.
During his presentation, he outlined that with these measures
