The Registrar's Office questioned for possible electoral fraud on E-14 forms

After the first election day of the year in Colombia, the results of the election began to be known. The National Registry began to issue the results of the elections little by little, while citizens on social networks accuse the entity of committing electoral fraud.

First, the National Registry was pointed out because their digital platforms did not work properly on Sunday, March 13, and now, this Monday, they have been criticized because, allegedly, several E-14 forms were altered. Most reports say that the fraud would have been committed in favor of Federico 'Fico' Gutiérrez, winner of the Team's inter-party consultation for Colombia.

It should be remembered that the E-14 is one of the formats that the juries of each voting station have to fill in to consolidate the numbers of votes that the candidates or parties received. The document has the name of each applicant printed on it and next to it there are three empty boxes so that they can be filled digit by digit of the total number of votes.

In case there are extra boxes, it is recommended to fill it with an asterisk so that there is no room for someone else to add other numbers and there is fraud. However, it is noted in the complaints that despite typing the asterisks, several boxes were subsequently changed.

In several forms, which are available on the Registrar's page you see this pattern. Some citizens downloaded them and posted them on social networks.

Although it is clear that if the numbers were changed after the asterisk was added, there are those who point out that this is not convincing evidence of a crime. Those who hold this position argue that they are due to errors by the voting juries, which in the face of such a lengthy count can be confused, and not to malicious actions that constitute a crime.

“I understand that errors or crossovers in E-14 formats give mistrust, but they can't imagine everything that juries have to do and how common it is to make mistakes. They have to fill out a lot of documentation, by hand and they only give an electoral kit, so it is not possible to correct” - @DianaTG10

“I filled out the E-14s from my table and muddled it in some spaces. These are mechanical errors that can be verified by the total number of votes in the ballot box. The format should have the notation that the crossover or correction is due to mechanical errors” - @PamelaForeroB

“Convinced that people who upload screenshots of the E-14 as proof of “fraud” have never had to fill that” - @PosadaAparicio

On the other hand, other people say that while it is true it is not hard evidence of fraud, the amendments in the E-14 are not normal and/or should be. Thus, they ask that these alterations be investigated. In addition, they point out that if the change was made to favor a particular candidate, the Registrar would not necessarily be to blame, but rather the electoral witness should respond.

It should be noted that as of March 14, the Registrar's Office has not commented on the subject. It is expected that in the coming days it will issue a statement explaining the questions that citizens have asked the entity in the face of persistent irregularities.

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