Google has created a special doodle in recognition of Colombia’s congressional elections.
The doodle, live on the Colombian Google homepage since Sunday morning, features patriotic colors and a set of hands casting a vote into a ballot box and invites all Colombian citizens to exercise what President Juan Manuel Santos called their “right and duty” to vote.
MORE: ‘I appeal to all Colombians to vote’: Santos
When clicked on, the doodle, directs users to the latest election news or directly to the National Registrar’s Office.
Google is well-known for utilizing the doodle tool to highlight and celebrate important world events, such as national holidays, birthdays of celebrities and sporting events.
Polling stations opened early Sunday morning and are scheduled to remain open until 4PM, with initial results expected to be reported by 8PM local time.
A total of 32,263,578 voters — 17,043,963 are women and 15,751,999 are men, according to the National Registrar’s Office – are registered to vote in 10,433 polling stations throughout the country.
MORE: Polls open at start of ‘most important congressional election in 50 years’
The election is considered pivotal, as the incoming Congress will likely have direct and far-sweeping input on any deal to emerge from ongoing peace talks between the Colombian government and the FARC, the country’s oldest rebel group. A peace deal would touch on such central issues as agrarian reform, drug policy and the political rights of opposition groups.
Sources
- Google invita a votar con su doodle de hoy (Vanguardia)