Guatemala's Electoral Process: Upholding Democracy and Transparency

Guatemala's democratic process thrives on citizen participation and transparency, ensuring fair elections despite challenges.

### Upholding Democracy in Guatemala: The Election Process and Technological Innovations
* 🗳 The Supreme Electoral Tribunal of Guatemala has certified **César Bernardo Arévalo de León** as the elected president and **Karin Larisa Herrera Aguilar** as vice president, reaffirming **citizens' rights expressed through the polls**.
* ⚖ Magistrate Blan Alfaro emphasizes the importance of **ensuring transparency and integrity in elections** amidst concerns of **power abuse and corruption**.
* 📅 Every four years, Guatemala witnesses a significant democratic event where citizens **actively participate in the election process**, despite ongoing claims of fraud.
* 👥 The election process involves three key pillars: the **Supreme Electoral Tribunal**, political organizations, and civic structures that oversee the **peaceful transition of power**, mobilizing **hundreds of thousands of volunteers**.
* 📦 A total of **24,585 boxes** containing electoral supplies, ballots, and essential documents are prepared for the vote reception boards, ensuring a **systematic counting process** at the end of the election day.
* 💻 The system for digitizing votes has been scrutinized, revealing vulnerabilities where **data could be altered by hackers**, highlighting the need for **secure technology in the electoral process**.
* 🔗 Proposals for decentralizing the election process through blockchain technology aim to **enhance security and efficiency** while preserving the **integrity of paper documents** as a national heritage.
* 🌍 The question remains: "Who will be the next country to embrace the path towards an **immutable democracy**?" as Guatemala explores innovative solutions to safeguard its democratic processes.

The Democratic Republic of Guatemala reaffirms the inalienable rights of citizens expressed at the polls. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal certifies citizen César Bernardo Arévalo de León as the elected president of the Republic of Guatemala and Karin Larisa Herrera Aguilar as the elected vice president of the Republic of Guatemala. This announcement stands as a testament to the very pillars of democracy. 

This is Magistrate Blan Alfaro from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, trying to navigate a world riddled with displays of power abuse and corruption. This is but one stark example; yet hope is not lost. It so happens that we might already possess the means to fix this. Every four years, sacred places emerge in Guatemala. Here, in this hallowed space, democracy takes the stage, and choices are made. 

It is no secret that there are always claims of fraud and other issues. This motivates me to be on the right side, knowing that things are done correctly. We have been carrying out this activity year after year during elections, and for us, it is a pleasure to serve our nation. What motivates me to support these elections is the desire to contribute a little to Guatemala, to see how the process unfolds, and to ensure that it is transparent. I truly want Guatemala to improve because many people only criticize and say the government does nothing, but we are the ones who choose. 

The organization unfolds three pillars that come together in this ceremonial preparation: the Supreme Electoral Tribunal as a referee, political organizations

The custodians for a peaceful transition of power are temporary civic structures that emerge during elections, specifically the election and municipal election boards. They are entrusted with the responsibility to safeguard and summarize the voting results enshrined in their document number four. Hundreds of thousands of individuals are mobilized, colloquially referred to as the Citizen Army. The stage is set, and as the day unfolds, each board transforms into a pivotal node capturing the changes. The table stands prepared in designated spaces, where volunteer citizens, sworn in by law as the vote reception board, are poised to embrace their neighbors. As the day concludes, document number four emanates from each board, accompanied by two witnesses who attest to democracy.

In the central operations of the electoral process, we have a great team preparing electoral supplies that will be placed inside the boxes sent to each vote reception board. We need to prepare 24,585 of these boxes, which not only carry these supplies but will also contain the electoral ballots, the electoral roll, and all the minutes signed by the vote reception boards, including those for the counting process. This document includes all the information we need. Here is the initial minute, and we will take it out at 6 PM when we start counting the votes. There are 317 voters, and here we will fill in the final result. That is what makes up the document; that is what many people understand, including ordinary citizens like us.

Estamos metidos aquí, pues lo sabemos. La elección la hace el ciudadano desde el momento en que el tribunal entrega, o sea, nombra las juntas departamentales y las juntas municipales. Entonces, ellos se convierten en las autoridades electorales y nombran a las juntas receptoras de votos, que son ciudadanos comunes y corrientes. Entonces, si yo, como ciudadano común y corriente, estoy en una mesa y gana determinado candidato, no pueden decir que no, porque los cuatro que están conmigo y los fiscales que estuvieron en esa mesa todos ven el resultado. Ellos se quedan con este documento en original. Este documento en original se lo trasladan a la junta electoral municipal, que también son ciudadanos. Ellos son los encargados de hacer el total por cada municipio. A su vez, esos totales se los trasladan a una junta electoral departamental, quienes son los encargados de totalizar todos los resultados a nivel departamental y a nivel nacional. Cuando ellos finalizan de hacer la totalización de todos los resultados oficiales, lo entregan al tribunal supremo electoral y esos son los resultados oficiales. Es importante aclarar que el día de las elecciones, la copia María sirve para dar una tendencia, pero no son los resultados oficiales. Hay que recordar que el TREP es para la ciudadanía, es para los guatemaltecos que votaron y que están interesados en ver cómo va la elección. Ese es el objetivo. De ahí proviene el nombre del programa informático

They go with the digitizer of that polling center, which is her at that moment. She says, Ah, I have received all the reports from that table. She puts all five in, or one, depending on what they gave her. She puts them into the scanner. That is the system we are using, and here we have the option to digitize. So we place them in the scanner, which each one has; it is personal. Ah, it is processing the image. When it aligns, then it sends it, and from there, I go to verification to check my colleagues' reports. This is another process; she will capture all of them the first time. After she captures them and presses the green button to send, it will go to another person in the municipality, but not in that polling center, and a second capture is made. If it matches, it is published at that moment on the internet. The data passes through the computer, and there are programs that alter the results. I have reliable information that five hackers changed the data and figures in just 14 seconds; the vote of the Guatemalans was not respected. 

We can solve the problem; the original model has fallen into centralization again. We can decentralize it again with technology, but there is only one technology that can achieve this and make it secure. The software program is enabled to start activities from the polling centers. A document has been generated to register it in the immutable

The protocol that we call this protocol for sending to this platform is, let's say, a bridge that connects and where it makes a backup not only of the image but also has an app that manages and calculates the digital hash of the document and sends it to be stored in the blockchain. The issue of paper documents is considered a national heritage, clearly regulated by law, and the citizens see it that way because it is the same citizens who handle these documents. So I believe that this is something we can maintain, but by implementing new technologies, we can make it more agile and efficient.

Here we can see, for example, how many records have been processed within the participation of citizens. The record is literally a record, but I want to verify it. So here is the button to verify the hash. By clicking on the verify hash button, it takes you to the Simple Proof page, the unalterable backup, where we can see the moment Simple Proof received the document, the hash, the state, and that it is already registered in the blockchain, the block in which it was registered, the date and time of confirmation within the blockchain. I can also download the documents.

So, this is the record that I downloaded from the unalterable backup. This is the one that was used to register in the blockchain, but I can come and compare it with the one that is in the system, and it turns out that it is the same. In this case, they match. And

of transactions or for backup, let's say public documents. So, that model is the one that needs to be preserved. That is the model that needs to be saved. Who will be the next country to embrace the path towards an immutable democracy?

Immutable Democracy

SimpleProof

The Certification of Guatemala's Elected Leaders

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal has certified César Bernardo Arévalo de León as the elected president and Karin Larisa Herrera Aguilar as the vice president of Guatemala.

The electoral process is supported by temporary civic structures and a mobilized citizen army, ensuring a transparent transition of power.

The preparation for the elections involves organizing 24,585 boxes with electoral supplies and ballots, culminating in a final result document to ensure accountability and transparency.

El proceso electoral en Guatemala comienza con el nombramiento de las juntas departamentales y municipales por parte del tribunal.

Los ciudadanos comunes forman las juntas receptoras de votos y son responsables de trasladar los resultados a las juntas electorales municipales y departamentales.

Finalmente, los totales se entregan al tribunal supremo electoral, que publica los resultados oficiales.

The Digitization Process of Polling Center Reports

The digitizer at the polling center scans and processes reports, sending them for verification and capturing data multiple times.

The information is then published online, but there are issues with hackers altering the results.

The solution lies in decentralizing the process again with secure technology, using a software program to register activities from the polling centers.

Streamlining Document Management with Blockchain

The protocol for sending documents to the platform acts as a bridge, making backups and calculating digital hashes for blockchain storage.

The importance of paper documents is recognized as a national heritage, and new technologies are being implemented to make the process more efficient.

The system allows users to verify hashes, view unalterable backups, and download documents, ensuring transparency and accuracy in record-keeping.

The model of preserving public documents and transactions is crucial for maintaining an immutable democracy.

The question arises as to which country will be the next to adopt this approach.

The emphasis is on the importance of saving and preserving this model for future governance.