- Francisco Martín has chaired the Security Board of coordination of the extraordinary device on the occasion of the electoral day on Sunday
- This is a device that guarantees that the elections will be held with "total normality" and that has been coordinated between the Government Delegation, the Electoral Boards and the Security Forces and Corps
The Government delegate to the Community of Madrid, Francisco Martín, today chaired the Security Board of coordination of the extraordinary device on the occasion of the electoral day of July 23, which will be made up of 10,775 agents who will work to guarantee citizen security and the exercise of rights and freedoms during the voting day.
Of these, 5340 correspond to the National Police; another 3635, to the Civil Guard; and around 1800, to the Local Police. This figure again places Madrid as the second autonomous community in terms of the number of troops deployed, only behind Andalusia.
In addition to personnel from the Government Delegation, representatives of the National Police, the Civil Guard, the City Council of the capital —Municipal Police, SAMUR and Firefighters—, and the General Directorate of Statistics participated in the meeting.
Francisco Martín has affirmed that this is a “suitable” device with a number of agents “very similar” to that of the local and regional elections, in which about 11,000 agents “will ensure the security of citizens on such an important day for democracy.” “It will be a safe election and the security forces and bodies will be fully involved so that the day passes with total normality,” he added.
Regarding the number of polling stations, he stressed that there will be 20 fewer polling stations than in previous elections -- a total of 1070 -- as a result of the redistribution of spaces by some municipalities. However, the number of polling stations remains at 7118.
Monitoring and protection of the electoral process
As in previous elections, for these elections a set of preventive and coordination measures for possible incidents in the field of cybersecurity has been articulated, with an Extraordinary Cybersecurity Device coordinated by the Cybersecurity Coordination Office of the Ministry of the Interior.
Secure choices
The government delegate also recalled that the mission of the National Police and the Civil Guard is not only to protect the polling stations, before and during the voting, as well as the headquarters of the electoral boards, but also includes the escort of the presiding officers in the city of Madrid until they deposit the minutes on their district board; and of all the judges responsible for transferring the minutes to the corresponding electoral board, a fundamental role in the electoral process. “It is an important effort that must be recognized and thanked,” he said.
Likewise, during these final days of the campaign, the day of reflection and the day of voting, the surveillance and protection of critical infrastructures, and the devices of the electoral colleges and their surroundings are intensified. “Since 2015, we have been on level 4 of anti-terrorist alert, so the device is dimensioned to it,” said the government delegate.
Logistic and coordination challenge
Francisco Martín highlighted the close coordination between the Government Delegation, the Electoral Boards and the Security Forces and Corps for the organization of the device. He also wished to recall that on the day of the elections there will be more than a hundred people in the Government Delegation to coordinate the more than 4,800 who will be in the polling stations, and with the Electoral Boards, and for the communication and resolution of incidents of a logistical or operational nature that may arise.
In these cases, and “in close coordination with the electoral boards and the security forces and bodies, a quick response will be given to ensure that all Madrid citizens can exercise their right to vote.”
Vote WAX
Francisco Martín recalled the novelty, already introduced in the May elections, that supposes the elimination of the requirement to request a vote for citizenship in the census of absent residents (CERA). In this case, both the vote that is made by mail and in the consulate, in a ballot box, will be subsequently recounted to the electoral board, which certifies the result once all the minutes have been scrutinized.
This is “a standard procedure that has worked well already in the autonomous elections, although it is true that we expect an increase in the volume of voters as a result of the elimination of the prerequisite”, he stressed.