The Council of Ministers has approved a rule that includes an exception for people in mandatory confinement due to Covid-19 to be able to leave their homes on January 30 to vote.

“The Government recommends that people who are not confined, to vote between 8am and 6pm and people who are in confinement, and who will be able to leave on that day, exercise their right to vote between 6pm and 7pm”, said the Minister of Internal Administration Francisca Van Dunem.

The minister noted that the Government “has no powers to prevent people from voting at the time they want”, but trusts the population to follow the recommendations.

The exception rule was approved by the Government after the opinion of the advisory council of the Attorney General's Office (PGR) which concluded that voters subject to mandatory confinement due to Covid-19 can vote in person on January 30 for the legislative elections.

“The Government expects that this recommendation will be heard and heeded to, like the previous ones”, he said.

For the minister, the security of the right to vote “depends a lot on the individual attitude of each person”.

Francisca Van Dunem also said that the Government did not recommend creating alternative circuits for voters in isolation to vote, explaining that “it is not possible in these spaces to have differentiated spaces”.