Central America
1,168 machines will be used for on-site electronic voting
December 8 |
The company Indra, contracted by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) to design the system for the on-site electronic voting abroad, will distribute 1,168 machines to 81 voting centers in 29 countries where Salvadorans are eligible to vote, detailed in an interview with “Diario El Salvador” the magistrate Guillermo Wellman.
He explained that four magistrates of the TSE recently traveled to Spain to know the advances in the design of the electronic voting system, both for the presential and remote modality by internet, and assured that the preparations are almost ready for the Salvadorans to exercise their right.
“As a matter of time we had to go to Spain because we also wanted to see how was the issue of face-to-face voting and how they were packing the machines. There are 1,168 machines that are going to be sent to 29 countries, there are 81 electronic voting centers,” he said.
He added that during the visit “we saw how is the case of the computerized voting, which is what has been done in many parts of the world, and we are already prepared, now we just need to check the software and go to the simulation to see how it works”.
Magistrate Wellman assured that the in-person electronic voting logistics will have a strong security system and that the company Indra has taken care of “even the smallest detail that carries the election process, both remote and in-person”.
“Nothing is perfect until the last, but we are trying to make things go well,” he added.
According to the official, the system is quite complete and secure, in that sense, he added that voters will go through biometric recognition tests to access the ballot, they will also receive a QR code that will enable them to vote and finally they will receive a proof of participation in the polls, which will have an electronic record.
“We are going to have three machines here [in El Salvador] for face-to-face [electronic] voting, so that those who are interested and want to do so can see. The citizens will also be informed about this process”, he informed.
Central America
El Salvador to host World Cup qualifiers vs. Guatemala and Panama at Estadio Cuscatlán
El Salvador’s national football team will host its final round World Cup qualifying matches against Guatemala and Panama at Estadio Cuscatlán, the honorary president of the National Sports Institute (INDES), Yamil Bukele, announced Thursday via a statement on his X account.
The official explained that this decision comes after the American rock band Guns N’ Roses, originally scheduled to perform at Estadio Cuscatlán on Saturday, October 4, will now hold their concert at Estadio Jorge “El Mágico” González. This change allows both of La Selecta’s qualifying matches to be played at the “Coloso de Monserrat.”
“After a series of efforts and in response to popular demand, we are pleased to announce that our senior national team’s CONCACAF World Cup qualifying matches next October (Oct. 10 vs. Panama and Oct. 14 vs. Guatemala) will take place at Estadio Cuscatlán,” the statement reads.
Bukele also thanked the event promoters and the band for agreeing to the stadium change. “We sincerely thank Guns N’ Roses and StarTicket for agreeing to move the concert originally scheduled for October 4 at Estadio Cuscatlán,” the statement adds.
Additionally, Bukele expressed gratitude to the FESFUT Regularization Commission for their efforts with CONCACAF to make this possible, and he urged fans to stay tuned to official channels to purchase tickets and support La Selecta in their World Cup qualifying campaign.
Central America
Honduran president Xiomara Castro suspends activities due to influenza
Honduran President Xiomara Castro announced on Thursday that she has “temporarily” suspended her public activities due to a severe influenza virus.
“A strong influenza virus requires me to rest, trusting that I will be fully recovered for the grand celebration of our National Independence Day” next Monday, Castro stated on the social media platform X.
The president had planned to participate in several inaugurations across the northern, central, and eastern regions of the country throughout the week. She added that “these events will be rescheduled for new dates.”
Central America
Nicaragua’s government expels bishops, priests, and nuns in religious persecution
At least 261 religious figures, including the president of the Nicaraguan Episcopal Conference, Carlos Enrique Herrera, have been expelled as part of the persecution by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo’s regime against the Catholic Church, reported the NGO Colectivo Nicaragua Nunca Más in its report Faith Under Fire.
The report details that among those expelled are bishops Silvio Báez, Rolando Álvarez, Isidoro Mora, as well as the Apostolic Nuncio in Managua, Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag, along with approximately 140 priests, over 90 nuns, ten seminarians, and three deacons from different dioceses in the country.
“Since the expulsion of Nuncio Sommertag in March 2022, relations between Nicaragua and the Vatican have significantly deteriorated,” the NGO noted.
The report also documents the closure of 5,609 non-profit organizations, of which 1,294 were religious, including churches, universities, schools, clinics, and humanitarian organizations. Most of these had their assets confiscated by the Sandinista government. Additionally, the telecommunications regulator TELCOR shut down 54 media outlets, including 22 religious radio stations and TV channels.
Repression has extended to other religious denominations, with forced disappearances and criminalization of evangelical pastors, control over temples, media censorship, fiscal pressure, property confiscation, and the cancellation of legal status for the Moravian Church. Pastor Rudy Palacios remains in detention as part of this pattern of persecution.
The NGO emphasized that churches, especially the Catholic Church, played a key role in the 2018 national dialogue, denouncing abuses and providing refuge to injured protesters, which fueled the government’s hostility.
In 2023, Pope Francis described Ortega’s regime as a “blatant dictatorship”, to which the Nicaraguan president responded by dissolving the Society of Jesus and labeling the Church as a “mafia” and “anti-democratic.”
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