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Article 49
 

Qualification of Political Parties and Coalitions for the First Scrutiny

(1) The Central Election Board shall calculate the total popular vote won by each distinct Political Party and coalition.

(2) Additionally, the Central Election Board shall calculate:

which Political Party or Political Parties out of the competing opponents has/have obtained less than five per cent out of the total popular vote;

which coalition or coalitions in which two Political Parties are joined has/have polled less than seven per cent out of the total popular vote;

which coalition or coalitions in which three Political Parties are joined has/have received less than nine per cent out of the total popular vote;

which coalition or coalitions in which four and more Political Parties are joined has/have accrued less than eleven per cent out of the total popular vote.

(3) In the course of the subsequent scrutinies and the resulting distribution of legislative seats among Political Parties and coalitions, no further account shall be taken of either the above Political Parties/coalitions or the votes such Political Parties and/or coalitions accrued.

(4) Should the Central Election Board discover that the vote percentage limit entitling the competing entities to qualify for the first scrutiny has not been achieved by at least two coalitions, or one coalition and one Political Party, or two Political Parties, it shall decrease:

the qualifying percentage limit from five per cent down to four per cent in case of Political Parties;

The qualifying percentage limit from seven per cent down to six per cent in case of coalitions defined by Paragraph 2, Letter (b);

the qualifying percentage limit from nine per cent down to eight per cent in case of coalitions defined by Paragraph 2, Letter (c);

the qualifying percentage limit from eleven per cent down to ten per cent in case of coalitions defined by Paragraph 2, Letter (d).

Should such decreases fail to allow for a sufficient number of competing entities to qualify for the first scrutiny pursuant to the provisions of this Paragraph, the Central Election Board shall decrease the qualifying percentage limit by one more per cent.

(5) The first scrutiny shall be instrumental in the conversion of votes to political representation in each electoral region.