Smartmatic Voting Systems Show Repeated Success in Venezuela Election - 14th February, 2012

Company referenced in this item: Smartmatic

Once again, Smartmatic's robust automated voting system was used with total success in yet another Venezuelan election. This time an alliance of opposition parties, grouped under the banner of Coalition for Democratic Unity, carried out primary elections in order to choose their presidential candidate for the upcoming October 7 presidential elections, and the candidates for the governor and mayor elections scheduled for December 16.

In this electoral event, without precedent in Venezuela, 268 coalition candidates were chosen: 17 candidates for state governors, 250 candidates for mayors and 1 presidential candidate, among 1,108 nominated individuals.

The primary elections began at 8:00 am with the opening of the polling stations. Throughout the day, the candidates urged the voters to participate en masse, praising the virtues of the voting system provided by Smartmatic. At 5:00 pm, the polling stations closed and the tallying and audits began. The Coalition's Electoral Commission for Primary Elections got an official report at 9:00 pm, with over 95% of the certified precinct results transmitted.

"We're very pleased to see how in Venezuela all sectors trust Smartmatic's technology for their internal elections. As in every election that has taken place in the country since 2004, our solution not only implies savings and logistical advantages, but also guarantees transparency throughout the whole process. We celebrate the fact that misgivings are a thing of the past", said Antonio Mugica, Smartmatic's CEO.

All representatives involved in the process concurred on the opinion that the system and the electoral technology developed by Smartmatic worked with swiftness, exactness and trustworthiness, thus ratifying the electoral solution that has been successfully employed in Venezuela since 2004.

Smartmatic is a multinational company that designs and deploys technological solutions aimed at helping governments to fulfill, in the most efficient way, their commitments toward their citizens. With a wide and proven experience in the United States, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Smartmatic is an important cutting-edge technology supplier for Governments. Smartmatic has more than 300 employees worldwide, with offices in the United States, Barbados, United Kingdom, Brazil, Panama, Venezuela, Philippines and Taiwan. For more information, please visit www.smartmatic.com

Contact: Smartmatic Tel.: +44 (0) 20 3402 3613 http://www.smartmatic.com