In a telephone conversation with Venezolana de Television, which is broadcasting a special program about the elections, the chief executive of the National Electoral Council indicated that the process of opening the polling stations began at 6:00 a.m. local time in the 15,731 voting centers across the country.

These will allow the people, he added, to elect their 335 mayors and 2,471 council members who will make up the Municipal Councils.

He noted that this is also an unprecedented moment because for the first time, the National Electoral Council is organizing two electoral processes on the same day: the municipal election and the National Youth Popular Consultation.

Quintero called the latter a “direct expression of the people, of People’s Power,” in which more than 37,000 community projects were presented, discussed, and approved by all citizens in the 5,336 Communal Circuits.

He explained that all persons over the age of 15 may participate in this consultation, even if they are not registered in the Electoral Registry.

The chief rector commented that the National Electoral Council carried out “engineering” at the polling stations to ensure an efficient flow of votes, allowing them to vote first through the automated system in the municipal elections and then for the Popular Consultation, which has a manual process, “but very efficient and consolidated,” he added.

Early in the morning, President Nicolas Maduro called on the people to exercise their right to vote through his Telegram account.

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