Summary
Vote counting should be a transparent and observable process.
Election Parts
Quotes
- The preparation and conduct of elections and the announcement of results shall be done in a transparent manner.
- The security of ballot boxes must be guaranteed and votes should be counted in the presence of the candidates or their agents.
- We, Ministers and Heads of Delegation of the States and Governments of Countries using French as a common language, (…) 4 - Undertake the following commitments: (…) B. For the holding of free, fair and transparent elections (...) 8. To ensure that the organization of elections, from the preparatory stage through the election campaign to the counting of votes and the proclamation of results, including, where required, the resolution of any disputes, is conducted in full transparency and is handled by credible bodies whose independence is recognized by all.
- We, Ministers and Heads of Delegation of the States and Governments of Countries using French as a common language, (…) 4 - Undertake the following commitments: (…) B. For the holding of free, fair and transparent elections (...) 8. To ensure that the organization of elections, from the preparatory stage through the election campaign to the counting of votes and the proclamation of results, including, where required, the resolution of any disputes, is conducted in full transparency and is handled by credible bodies whose independence is recognized by all.
- The votes should preferably be counted at the polling stations themselves, rather than in special centres. The polling station staff are perfectly capable of performing this task, and this arrangement obviates the need to transport the ballot boxes and accompanying documents, thus reducing the risk of substitution.
- Observation of elections b. Observation must not be confined to election day itself, but must include the registration period of candidates and, if necessary, of electors, as well as the electoral campaign. It must make it possible to determine whether irregularities occurred before, during or after the elections. It must always be possible during vote counting.
- According to the Code of Good Practice in Electoral matters, the votes should preferably be counted at the polling station immediately after poll close, rather than in special counting centers (CDL-AD (2002)023rev, para. 45). This has the advantage of providing quick results for the polling station. Further, counting away from the polling station may raise security problems, since the transport of ballot boxes and accompanying documents is always a security risk.
- [C]ounting must be transparent. Observers, candidates' representatives and the media must be allowed to be present. These persons must also have access to the records.
- The counting and tabulation of votes should be fully transparent and accessible to representatives of election contestants, as well as observers.
- Wherever possible, counting should take place at the polling stations and immediately after the conclusion of voting. Different arrangements may however be required if there are serious practical difficulties in ensuring the security of counts conducted at a multi-plicity of polling stations, or if it is thought necessary to combine ballots from different polling stations, before counting, to preserve the secrecy of the ballot or to minimise the risk of intimidation.
- [C]ounting should preferably take place in polling stations.
- The vote counting should be conducted in a transparent manner. It is admissible that voters registered in the polling station may attend; the presence of national or international observers should be authorised. These persons must be allowed to be present in all circumstances. There must be enough copies of the record of the proceedings to distribute to ensure that all the aforementioned persons receive one; one copy must be immediately posted on the notice-board, another kept at the polling station and a third sent to the commission or competent higher authority.
- Close attention has to be paid to ensure that results protocols are correctly completed and signed by all authorised persons, according to the law. It goes without saying that the protocols have to be signed after the count has finished, rather than beforehand, as it is sometimes the case. Properly completing election protocols is no easy task.
- The legal framework should ensure, among other things, that: ...Transparency mechanisms allow effective monitoring by electoral contestants, domestic nonpartisan election monitors, news media and international election observers, which includes verifying transmission of results by any medium and accompanying transport of ballots, tally sheets and other sensitive materials to intermediate and/or final results tabulation centers;
- The counting of votes should be done at the polling station where candidates and/or their election agents are present.
- The legal framework should require that all relevant electoral documents be publicly accessible, including election protocols, tabulation and tally sheets, and decisions determining or affecting election results. Such electoral documents should be publicly posted at all levels of election administration, including polling, municipal, and state election commission levels. Detailed tabulations of overall results, including the voting results in each polling station, should be posted at each election commission. These detailed tabulations should also be published in state owned or controlled print media as soon as the results are certified.
- A counting system in which the ballots are not counted in the polling station but transported to a central counting location produces additional problems of transparency and verification.
- The counting process should take place in the polling station immediately after the close of voting.
- Counting should be open to official observation by concerned parties. All issued, unissued and damaged ballot papers must be systematically accounted for. The processes for counting votes, verification, reporting of results and retention of official materials must be secure and fair. Re-count procedures should be available in case of questionable results. Finally, alternative, independent verification procedures, such as parallel vote tabulation, can be a valuable measure contributing to public confidence in, and acceptance of, the outcome of polling.
- The legal framework should ensure, among other things, that: ...Ballots are placed in a manner that allows verification that they are being credited to the proper electoral contestant, including party, candidate, position supporting or opposing a referendum or ballot initiative.
- Illustrative of this minimum standard is Paragraph 7.4 of the OSCE 1990 Copenhagen Document, which requires that votes "are counted and reported honestly with the official results made public." This requires that votes be counted and tabulated in the presence of observers, and that the entire process by which a winner is determined be fully and completely transparent.
- In particular, the EMB should ensure that: the results process is fully accessible to candidates, political parties, their agents, domestic and international observers and the media.
- [C]ounting should preferably take place in polling stations.
- [C]ounting must be transparent. Observers, representatives of the proposal’s supporters and opponents and the media must be allowed to be present. These persons must also have access to the records.