The plenary of the
following an audit conducted by the electoral authority itself.
The
report concluded that implementing the technological solution for digital voting was not advisable, after the technical team in charge identified shortcomings that could not be remedied by the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) before key electoral milestones are reached.
JNE Chairman Roberto Burneo explained that one of these key milestones was scheduled for January 5, when approximately 10,000 voters who had opted for digital voting were to be informed who would be able to use that modality.
This step is directly linked to another critical milestone: the drawing of polling station members, set for January 29, 2026.
In this regard, he noted that, according to the ONPE, the technical solution for digital voting would only reach its final version on April 1, 2026, just 11 days before the General Elections.
"As of today, if you ask me, it is not guaranteed that voters will be able to cast their ballots digitally on April 12, because the (technological) solution has many shortcomings, and we cannot risk that group of people—even if it is just one person—being unable to exercise their right to vote," Burneo said during a press conference on Monday.
"This does not mean that digital voting is doomed. Quite the opposite: we welcome the ONPE's effort and professionalism, which in a short period of time has been able to develop a proposal," he indicated.
He added that this could be a good starting point for the technological alternative to be applied in the 2026 Regional and Municipal Elections or in future electoral processes.
Burneo also clarified that, although the ONPE is conducting its own separate audit—whose conclusions are expected in the coming days—this will not affect the decision already taken, as the JNE's role is to ensure that the implementation of this voting modality is optimal and that voters' right to participate is not affected.
He added that another version was received on December 2.
In this regard, Kuroiwa explained that the institution should have already had the final version of the digital voting software by January 5, as any subsequent modifications to the product could affect the vote of citizens registered for the pilot program.
He specified that, according to the ONPE itself, the technological solution would receive final approval on April 1, at which point the software would only then move into the production phase.
Among other issues, Rodriguez noted that the digital solution's security and resilience could not be validated in scenarios such as a natural disaster.
Likewise, he pointed out that another risk is the inability to guarantee the security of votes cast by Peruvians abroad.
"The audit team conducted a SAST test, which identified open backdoors in the source code, detecting vulnerabilities; therefore, this would not guarantee the secrecy of the vote under such circumstances," Rodriguez explained.
The official mentioned that deficiencies were also identified in terms of digital accessibility for people with disabilities, who are considered a priority group in electoral matters.
He further noted that, although the ONPE holds ISO 27001 certification for information security, the processes involved in digital voting have not undergone this validation, generating what he deemed as "digital distrust" in the technological solution.
(END) MCA/JCR/MVB