In response to signals of possible irregularities in the Riga City Council election process, the Central Election Commission (CEC) found that 419 ballot envelopes without the stamp of the relevant station commission were issued to voters on the previous voting day in the Riga City polling station No. 144. The CEC has requested the State Security Service to investigate the circumstances of this case too.
The polling station No. 144 was located in the Pushkin Lyceum. During the counting of votes, it was stated that all 419 ballot envelopes found in the polling box of the early voting have not been stamped by the stamp of the polling station commission. In conformity with the election law of the City Council of the Republic and the county council, ballot envelopes, which have not been stamped with the commission stamp of the relevant polling station, shall be deemed invalid.
The CEC will also ask the Riga City Election Commission and the relevant polling station commission for clarification of this situations.
In the light of the incident, the CEC will place under close scrutiny the minutes of electoral results at polling stations and decide on the way forward after reviewing the explanations provided by the election commissions.
The CEC had previously reported to the State Security Service that a significant number of ballot envelopes were issued to voters in the Riga's polling station No. 97, which was located in the Riga Classical Gymnasium. The CEC, examining the information, found that 208 unstamped envelopes were cast into the polling box.
The chairperson of the polling station commission shall be responsible for the work of the polling station commission, training and briefing of the members of the polling station commission, the conduct of the voting process in conformity with regulatory enactments, the correct calculation of voting results and the preservation of material values transferred at the disposal of the polling station commission.
According to the Instruction for Ballot Counting in the City Council and Municipality Council elections, the Riga City Election Commission shall distribute the ballot envelopes to the polling station commissions, leaving a reserve for an unexpected need for itself. When receiving the ballot envelopes from the Riga City Election Commission, the polling station commission had to stamp them all with the stamp of the station commission, recount them at least twice, and make an entry in the minutes on the course of the election regarding the number of stamped envelopes, indicating the name and surname of the members of the station commission who have counted them.
The counting of votes shall be conducted by the Chairperson of the polling station commission. Before the counting, the election commission seals the gaps in the ballot boxes, closes the voter lists, counts the voters who have participated and brings out the unused ballot papers from the room where counting will took place, as well as places voting materials and forms that should not be not used in counting in such a way that they do not interfere with the counting of votes.
Ballot boxes must be opened one at a time. When opening the ballot box, the contents are sorted into valid envelopes and the others. If there are ballot papers in the ballot box without ballot envelopes, they shall be immediately cancelled and wrapped. The invalid ballot envelopes found in the ballot boxes shall be counted, unopened packed in accordance with the procedures specified in the Instruction for Ballot Counting in the City Council and Municipality Council elections, indicating on the packaging that the invalid ballot envelopes found in the ballot boxes are in the parcel and total number of them. The total number of invalid envelopes must be entered in the in the minutes on the course of the election.
An important condition for determining the number of valid envelopes: the number of valid ballot envelopes in ballot boxes must not exceed the number of voters entered in voter lists corresponding to ballot boxes.
The final results of the Riga City Council elections are determined and confirmed by the Riga City Election Commission. The City Council and Municipality Council Election Law requires that the results of the elections shall to be announced by the Riga City Election Commission not later than seven days after the elections, i.e. - not later than until 5 September 2020.
All the submitters of the candidate lists, as well nominated candidates may contest the decisions both of the polling station commission and the Riga City Election Commission approving election results in the Central Election Commission within three working days after the decision has been made. The Central Election Commission shall adopt its decision within three days. This decision of the Central Election Commission may also be appealed within three working days by submitting an application to the Administrative District Court. The decision taken by the District Court is final and may not be appealed.
If the court, examining the complaint, finds that the organisation of the elections or the counting of votes and the calculation of the election results have committed violations of the law, which have affected the allocation of seats among political parties, political party associations, it shall repeal the decision regarding the approval of the results of the local government elections. In such a situation, the court may take one of the following decisions: asking the CEC to ensure the recount of votes, asking the CEC to ensure the repeat voting in a certain polling station or asking the CEC to ensure repeat elections.
30.08.2020.
CEC Information Department