The International
Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) and the Andres Bello Catholic
University (UCAB) presented a report a few weeks before the most recent Venezuelan
Parliamentary
elections in which they state that “the strength of the Venezuelan
electoral process lies in the automated voting and vote-counting system (...)
The voting system is totally automated and can be audited in all its phases”.
As a member of the Smartmatic
family, it makes me very proud that such prestigious institutions validate the
quality of our work. In the past I’ve read similar statements regarding our
technology, however, this time around I felt compounded to write a post as I was
part of the team that presented our system to the experts from IDEA and the
UCAB who wrote the report.
One very important aspect that this report highlights is the level of trust that political
party technicians have in the system. Trust is crucial in elections, and that
is why we’ve made auditability one of our mantras. At Smartmatic we go to great
lengths to guarantee that all interested parties check every single component
of the system before, during and after each election. Our philosophy, and all
the efforts that have gone into putting it in practice, have born positive results.
If I had to summarize the reasons
for the success reflected in this report, I would use three words: technology,
experience, and perseverance.
For several years we have
invested lots of time and energy in our Research and Development labs. There, we have developed unrivaled technology
to service the needs of our clients, always upholding the strictest quality
controls. The system that is praised today by the most important election
observation missions in the world was designed by technicians with a very high
level of expertise in the areas of security and platform scaling. No secret
here. Technology is a key part of this success story.
But another aspect of our
success, which might not be as visible but is certainly key, is experience.
While carrying out election projects in contrasting contexts such as Belgium,
Zambia, the US, Venezuela or the Philippines, we’ve accumulated a wealth of
experience that is second to none in the industry; experience that can’t be
taught in a classroom or found in a book.
And that brings me to my third
point. Experience can only be obtained through hard work and determination –and
by the way, it is the only way to build a good reputation in the world of
elections. Our perseverance has allowed us to count 2.5 billion votes in
elections in 5 continents; something that is much easier said than done.
This recognition comes as a pat
on the back for all those who have contributed with commitment and dedication
to the success of each one of the 14 elections that have been conducted in
Venezuela. Thousands of people have worked passionately to overcome the
challenges that have risen during these elections. I’d like to congratulate all
of them.
Salvador Sosa
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