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-Editorial
The General Council of the State Electoral Institute of Baja California (IEEBC) declared the start of the Electoral Day for the Ordinary Local Electoral Process 2023-2024. More than 3,197,000 citizens of Baja California are called to participate in this democratic event, with the installation of 5,374 polling stations throughout the state.
The election day, which aims to elect the next president of Mexico, has faced several significant challenges in Baja California. In Mexicali, many polling stations did not open on time due to the absence of poll workers, causing long lines and extended waits for voters. This situation generated frustration among citizens, who had to wait patiently to exercise their right to vote.
In Ensenada, the situation became more serious with reports of acts of violence and theft of polling stations. Particularly in Districts 03 and 07, several incidents were recorded, including an armed robbery of three boxes in District 07 around 11 a.m. on Sunday. According to reports, two men arrived on a white motorcycle at the box located in section 206, near the Moderna neighborhood, on Bahía Magdalena Street. After committing the robbery, they crashed into a pickup truck and were arrested minutes later in the El Sauzal district.
Due to this theft, the National Electoral Institute (INE) confirmed the definitive suspension of the basic polling station of Section 02 in Ensenada. Alejandro Ramírez Hernández, a member of the Electoral Organization of the Local Board of the INE in Baja California, indicated that the report of the theft of electoral material, both for the local and federal elections, was received around 10:30 in the morning.
The governor of Baja California, Marina Del Pilar Ávila Olmeda, stated that she continues to work for a safe Election Day in the state, which is why she is heading the Security Table of the 2023-2024 Electoral Process.
“I want to thank the invaluable support of our armed forces, as well as each of the elements of the three levels of government that are ensuring that all Baja Californians can go to the polls with complete peace of mind,” declared the governor on her social network.
From 7:00 a.m. on Sunday, the General Council of the IEEBC had begun the 38th Extraordinary Session of a solemn nature. In this session, President Councilor Luis Alberto Hernández Morales highlighted the historical importance of this concurrent electoral process, in which both federal authorities and 122 local authorities will be elected in a single act.
Hernández Morales emphasized the relevance of this day, where not only the Presidency of the Republic, the Senate, and the Chamber of Deputies will be decided, but also the State Congress and the seven City Councils of Baja California will be formed. This process is particularly significant for the municipalities of San Felipe and San Quintín, which for the first time will elect their municipal authorities.
The President Councilor assured that the IEEBC will guarantee that political offers represent the diversity of society and comply with integration in the power bodies as established by law. Furthermore, he called on all citizens to freely exercise their right to vote, urging the population to combat the main enemy of democracy: abstentionism
