Following voting in the June 7 presidential runoff election, a key stage of the electoral process began: the vote count.
The
outlines the procedures through which votes are processed.
First, the three polling station officials, in the presence of the political party representatives in attendance, count the votes cast by citizens.
The procedure begins with the opening of the ballot box and the unfolding of the ballots.
Each ballot is examined to verify that it bears the signature of the polling station chairperson. Those lacking this signature are set aside, while the remaining ballots are sorted and counted.
Once the count is completed, the total number of ballots must match the number of voters who cast their ballots. If that is not the case, the excess ballots are randomly withdrawn and destroyed.
The vote-count results are then recorded in the electoral record, a document that details the votes obtained by each political organization, as well as blank, null, and challenged votes.
The sum of these figures must match the total number of citizens who voted. Likewise, each electoral record includes a section for documenting observations or incidents that occurred during the voting day.
Transfer of electoral records
Once the count has been completed, the four copies of the electoral record are filled out and sent to the Decentralized Electoral Process Office (ODPE), the Special Electoral Board (JEE), the National Elections Board (JNE), and the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE).
A copy of the electoral record is also provided to political party representatives who request it.
These documents record events that occurred during the setup, voting, and vote-count stages.
After being signed by the polling station officials and the political party representatives who requested them, the documents are handed over to the ONPE coordinator assigned to the polling place, who transports them to the corresponding ODPE computing center under police escort and accompanied by a JNE observer.
Upon arrival at the ODPE, the electoral record copy is processed and entered into the computing system. Those that do not contain observations are counted immediately, and their results are added to the overall vote count.
When inconsistencies are detected, the copy is forwarded to the corresponding JEE.
Electoral records are classified as challenged at computing centers for issues such as illegible data, missing signatures, incomplete records, or arithmetic errors, among other reasons.
Once received, JEE members examine and compare the information against the copy in their possession.
This procedure often makes it possible to clarify the discrepancies and issue the corresponding ruling.
Once the challenge has been resolved and a decision has been issued, the document is returned to the ODPE for inclusion in the official vote count.
Vote recount
If the inconsistencies cannot be resolved through the comparison process, a vote recount is conducted. This mechanism consists of carrying out a new count of the ballots corresponding to a specific polling station.
Applied only once, the procedure is intended to preserve the will expressed by voters and prevent errors in the completion of the electoral record from affecting the vote's outcome.
To this end, the JEE requests from the ODPE the sealed envelope containing the ballots from the polling station.
Once it is received, a public hearing is convened with the participation of the three collegiate members, the secretary, and the information technology specialist.
Political party representatives and a Public Ministry representative may also attend.
During the hearing, the collegiate chairperson opens the sealed envelope containing the ballots and proceeds to conduct the new count together with the other two members of the plenary.
Once the procedure has been completed, a recount record is prepared, documenting the votes obtained by each political organization, as well as null and blank votes. A resolution is then issued to officially certify those results.
In accordance with the Organic Elections Law, once the recount has been completed, the ballots are placed back into a sealed envelope and sent to ONPE for safekeeping and preservation until the day after the publication of the official results proclamation.
Proclamation of results
Once all pending cases have been resolved, each JEE forwards its decisions to the respective ODPE offices.
With the vote count completed at 100% in each constituency, a decentralized proclamation record is prepared and presented during a public hearing.
Once all stages established under electoral regulations have been completed, the JNE consolidates the results from across the country and proclaims as the winner the ticket that obtained the highest number of votes.
With regard to the election of Senators, Deputies, and Andean Parliamentarians, the proclamation is carried out in accordance with the method of election for each office and the rules established by law.
This act of proclamation is set forth in a general record signed by the plenary members and, if requested, by the candidates or their representatives.
Lastly, the JNE grants the corresponding credentials to the citizens proclaimed President and Vice Presidents of the Republic, as well as to the Senators, Deputies, and Andean Parliamentarians chosen in the elections.
Progress update
The National Elections Board (JNE) has made available to the public a platform that provides information on the progress of processing challenged electoral records during the presidential runoff election.
The tool can be accessed through the "Assessment of Challenged Electoral Records" button on the National Elections Board's (JNE) website homepage, or directly through this link.
The platform provides up-to-date information on the total number of challenged electoral records received by the Special Electoral Boards (JEE), the first-instance electoral bodies, as well as the progress made in processing those documents.