"Due to the existence of this robust automatized voting system we can know, without doubts, that the past elections of the Constituent assembly faced the participation data manipulation," Smartmatic CEO Antonio Mugica said, as quoted by the BBC broadcaster.
Mugica noted that a full audit would help to find out the exact number of voters and compare the figures with the number of the bulletins cast during the elections. The company assumed that the difference may amount to up to a million voters.
"It is with the deepest regret that we have to report that the turnout numbers on Sunday 30th July for the Constituent Assembly in Venezuela were tampered with," Mugica said.
Venezuela, mired in a deep economic crisis caused by the fall of oil prices, has been facing mass protests since spring. The manifestations were initially a response to the decision of the country's top court to severely limit legislative powers of the parliament. Despite the fact that the decision was eventually overturned, the protests continued.
In May, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced his decision to convene the National Constituent Assembly. Maduro's move was regarded by the opposition as an attempted coup and resulted in a further escalation of tensions and numerous casualties. The election to the new legislative body took place on Sunday but their results are not recognized by most countries in the region.
