Presidential elections in Antioquia: Security presence and MOE alerts

Antioquia is experiencing an intense presidential election day, marked by a massive security deployment and close scrutiny from observers. The region has a total of 5,448,240 eligible voters, with 15,801 voting tables set up in 1,280 polling stations.

Civilian and military authorities, alongside citizen oversight groups, are maintaining constant monitoring to ensure the electoral process remains legal and transparent. The security forces have deployed around 19,000 personnel throughout the department. While military commanders report relative normality in urban centers, preventive operations have led to six arrests for various offenses. Notable among these was a man apprehended en route to Segovia with a 9mm firearm and over 114 million pesos in cash, raising alarms due to the strict ban on carrying weapons.

Other arrests included individuals involved in vote fraud in Itagüí, judicial warrants in Cañasgordas, and detentions for sexual offenses in Santuario and Puerto Berrío. The Electoral Observation Mission (MOE) in Antioquia reported 19 irregularities in polling stations in its initial assessment. The MOE, with 142 observers across 32 municipalities, noted that 99% of observed polling stations allowed formal access, and 87.64% had electoral witnesses present during setup.

However, the MOE identified issues in a small percentage of polling stations, including the failure to publicly display empty ballot boxes before voting began in 3.33% of cases and the detection of poll workers wearing campaign insignia in 8%. Technological aspects showed mixed results, with biometrics available at 59% of polling stations and the digital ID functioning without major issues in 70.39% of cases. In terms of inclusion, 62.65% of tables were noted to be accessible.