Ourense, July 17, 2023.- The Deputy Delegate of the Government in Ourense, Emilio González, has today celebrated the "democratic normality" that means that more than 100,000 Ourensans from 144 countries around the world can participate in the next General Elections without the need to request the vote in advance. “These elections confirm the end of a historical injustice with the citizens of Ourense who reside abroad,” said the deputy delegate.
They are the first elections that affect Galicia after the modification in 2022 of the General Electoral Regime Law (LOREG). The deputy delegate pointed out that the reform of electoral legislation suppressed the procedures, which "often involved a real yincana", that people living abroad had to carry out in order to exercise a basic constitutional right, that of participating in the election of their representatives.
Emilio González expressed his confidence that “the voice from outside” will be heard loud and clear in the July 23 elections, reflecting the weight of CERA in the total census of 18%. And he recalled that although they are not the first elections held since the approval of the modification of the LOREG, in the municipal elections of May the CERA had no right to vote so, in practice, this is the first electoral process that has repercussions in Galicia with new legislation.
Over 100 thousand ballot papers
The subdelegate pointed out that the participation of CERA represents a logistical effort unknown until now. Of the 144 countries in which there are citizens of the CERA census, 113 countries have 50 or fewer voters and, of these, only one person is registered in 16 and two people are registered in 10 countries.
The Government’s subdelegation facilitates the content of the envelopes that are already arriving from people from abroad. The documentation is sent through the INE in two shipments. A first one with voting envelopes and with the address of the competent Electoral Board; the registration certificates in the census and an information sheet. In a second mailing, the voters and the voting table will receive the ballot papers. The subdelegation of the Government of Ourense allocates more than 100,000 ballot papers for the vote abroad, which correspond to the complete lists of candidates for Congress and the Senate that are provided to each elector. This documentation will be the one they use to issue their vote, either in the places authorized in the destination countries or by certified mail.
Distribution by country
Argentina continues to be the country with the highest number of CERA voters, with 29,250 people qualified to vote in the elections. It is followed by Cuba (13,955), Brazil (10,305) and Uruguay (3,024). Switzerland is the first European country on the list, with 7,890 voters; the United Arab Emirates (11) is the first country in Galician voters on the Asian continent and South Africa (29) the first in Africa.