The National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) is getting ready for a new milestone on the road to General Elections 2026. This December 24, the entity will publicly present the official voting card that will be used in next year’s elections.
The announcement was made by Rafael Arias, Deputy Manager of Interinstitutional Relations, during an interview with Exitosa Noticias, where he also detailed the technological and logistical advances implemented to guarantee a safer and more accessible electoral process.
Arias specified that the identity card that will be presented is the version closest to the final one, which will allow voters to become familiar with the design, order and disposition of the candidates before going to the polls.
“The ballot will be presented in its version closest to the final one, allowing voters to know in advance the format they will find at the polls,” he explained.
For these elections, citizens will be able to choose between 37 registered parties, a figure that reflects the high political fragmentation and will demand a clear and easy-to-interpret ID card.
Digital vote
During the interview, Arias also addressed the advances of digital voting, a system that is in the pilot phase and whose participation is completely voluntary. Unlike traditional electronic voting, which faced criticism for logistical difficulties and auditing limitations, the new model relies on more robust and transparent technologies, such as the use of blockchain.
“We have hired a foreign company with experience for the audit and the National Elections Jury also supervises the process,” he noted.
According to the official, ONPE has not only reinforced the security of the system, but has also enabled a multipurpose room so that the JNE can verify the operation of the entire operation in real time.
Given concerns about possible computer attacks during digital voting, Arias stated that the institution has “a very solvent, very important system,” supported by external audits and the supervision of the National Elections Jury.
The deputy manager insisted that digital voting still has no impact on the national results because only a small group of citizens participates in the pilot phase. “We want to show people’s faces and say: ‘This system works’, but not because we say so, but because expert companies and the National Elections Jury supervise it,” he remarked.
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