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Article 116
 

Counting the ballots

1. The CEAZ is to make a decision to start the process of counting votes only after having received all ballot boxes with the ballot papers and the boxes of voting materials from all the voting centres under its jurisdiction. For the Tirana Municipality, the CEAZ of the municipal borough begins the count in the following order:

a) the ballot boxes for the mayor of Tirana Municipality and the Tirana Municipal Council;

b) the ballot boxes for the mayor of the municipal borough and the municipal borough council.

2. Members of the Counting Teams take from the stack of ballot boxes, one after the other, in ascending order of the ordinal numbers of the voting centres, the ballot boxes with the ballot papers and the respective box with the voting materials of only one voting centre and place them by the table of the respective Counting Team. Next, the members of the Counting Team receive from the secretary of the CEAZ the sample for comparing the stamp of the chairman of the VCC deposited in compliance with point 2 of article 100 of this Code.

3. Initially, the Counting Team performs the verification procedure of the data in the Record of the Closing of the Polls. To perform this verification, the Counting Team proceeds as follows:

a) The First Counter takes the Box with Voting Materials, places it on the table and opens it by breaking the seals with the security codes. The Record of the Closing of the Polls is taken out of the box and verification takes place on whether the following are found in the box:

i) the “UNUSED BALLOT PAPERS” envelope together with the ballot stubs;

ii) the “SPOILED BALLOT PAPERS” envelope;

iii) the voter list, including the special register in accordance with article 55 of this Code;

iv) the original copies of the decisions of the VCC as well as the unused templates for VCC decisions;

v) the stamp of the VCC;

vi) the stamp of the VCC chairman;

vii) the seals with the unused security codes;

viii) the seals with the damaged security codes, if any; and

ix) the VCC Meeting Record Book;

b) The First Counter initially compares the stamp of the VCC chairman with the sample for comparison and presents his opinion to the team members;

c) The First Counter counts the unused ballot papers and, at the conclusion of the counting, makes the figure known to the Counting Team members and the observers of the electoral subjects. The secretary of the Counting Team compares the declared result with that recorded in the Record of the Closing of the Polls. If the figures do not correspond, or if any of the members of the Counting Team requests a recount, the First Counter is obliged to restart the count of the unused ballot papers once again;

ç) The First Counter counts the spoiled ballot papers and, at the conclusion of the counting, makes the figure known to the Counting Team members and the observers of electoral subjects. The secretary of the Counting Team compares the declared figure with that recorded in the Record of the Closing of the Polls. If the figures do not correspond, or if any of the members of the Counting Team requests a recount, the First Counter is required to restart the count of the spoiled ballot papers once again;

d) The First Counter counts the voters who have voted according to the signatures on the voter list, including those in accordance with article 55 of this Code and, at the conclusion of the count, makes the figure known to the members of the Counting Team.

The secretary of the Counting Team compares the declared figure with that recorded in the Record of the Closing of the Polls. If the figures do not correspond, or if any of the members of the Counting Team requests a recount, the First Counter is obliged to restart once again the count of the voters who have voted;

dh) The First Counter, based on the comparison of the verified figures, calculates and declares the number of ballot papers used, which is derived from the difference between the total number of ballot papers according to the Record of the Closing of the Polls and the number of unused ballot papers. The secretary of the Counting Team verifies the declared figure against the one recorded in the Record of the Closing of the Polls.

4. After the verification has been completed, the First Counter of the Counting Team closes the box of the voting materials with seals with security codes, leaving the Record of the Closing of the Polls outside the box. The secretary of the Counting Team notes the numbers of the codes in the Record of the Counting Team for Closing the Box with Voting Materials. The box with voting materials is placed again by the CAEZ table.

5. Afterwards, the First Counter places the ballot box with the ballot papers on the table and opens it by breaking the seals with the security codes. In the case of local elections, the ballot box for the political parties and/or electoral coalitions is opened only after the counting and evaluation procedures for the candidates for mayors of local government units have been completed and this box has been closed. The First Counter and the members of the Counting Team take the ballot papers and the envelope with the Record of Sealing out of the box, unfold the ballot papers and place them on the table with the reverse side of the sheet facing up. The stacked ballot papers are counted by the First Counter, who, at the conclusion of the count, makes the figure known to the members of the Counting Team and the observers of electoral subjects. The declared figure is checked against the figure that represents the difference between the number of used ballot papers and the number of spoiled ballot papers. If the figures do not correspond or if any of the members of the Counting Team requests a recount, the First Counter is required to restart the count of the ballot papers once again.

6. If inaccuracies or irregularities are identified as a result of the verification conducted in accordance with this article, then the Counting Team or any of the observers of the electoral subjects who identify these inaccuracies or irregularities immediately notifies the CEAZ about the discrepancies. The notification is made by raising one’s hand and without moving from one’s place. Raising a hand suspends any further action of the Counting Team until the CEAZ has been informed of the issue and has verified it. If the CEAZ confirms the inaccuracy or the irregularity, it reflects it in the Record of Findings.

Only after recording the inaccuracy or irregularity in the Record of Findings does the CEAZ make a decision for the Counting Team to continue the vote counting procedures.

The Counting Team is to be informed immediately about the decision of the CEAZ.