Home > 2.1.1 Electoral commissions > LATVIA - The Saeima Election Law
 
 
 
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Article 45
 

(1) Soldiers and national guardsmen participating in international missions shall vote in their respective place of deployment provided that compliance with the provisions of this Law can be ensured.


(2) Not later than four weeks before election day, the Central Election Commission shall deliver the polling station’s stamp, passport stamps, lists of voters, sets of ballot papers containing all the lists of candidates nominated for the Riga constituency, ballot envelopes and a ballot box to the National Armed Forces to be transferred to a person authorised by the Commander of the National Armed Forces.


(3) On election day, before the voting, the person authorised by the Commander of the National Armed Forces shall verify whether the ballot box is empty and then shall seal it in the presence of the first voter. The person authorised by the Commander of the National Armed Forces shall enter the full name and ID number of the voter on the list of voters and shall stamp the voter’s passport indicating that he/she has participated in the current Saeima elections. The person authorised by the Commander of the National Armed Forces shall issue to each voter a complete set of ballot papers containing the lists of candidates nominated for the Riga constituency and a ballot envelope bearing the stamp of the given polling station commission; the voter shall confirm the receipt thereof by signing the list of voters. It is prohibited to issue any ballot paper separately. Voting shall take place in the presence of at least three voters.


(4) Voting shall be by secret ballot. A separate compartment shall be provided inside the polling station in accordance with Paragraph 1 of Article 23.


(5) The voter shall select the ballot paper containing the list of candidates for which he/she wishes to vote; if desired, he/she may use the marks referred to in Paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 23 of this Law; he/she shall insert the ballot paper into the ballot envelope and seal it. Then the voter shall drop the sealed ballot envelope into the sealed ballot box.


(6) The votes shall be counted in accordance with the procedure set forth by the Central Election Commission. For this purpose, a vote-counting commission of at least three voters shall be formed. 


(7) When the counting of votes and recording of votes in the vote-counting minutes have been completed, all the lists of voters, all the valid and invalid ballot papers together with their ballot envelopes, unused and invalid ballot envelopes, the journal of the voting process and the vote-counting minutes shall be packaged, sealed and immediately delivered to the Joint Headquarters of the National Armed Forces to be forwarded to the Central Election Commission.


(8) The voting process in the place of deployment of an international mission shall be monitored by a person authorised by the Commander of the National Armed Forces.


(9) Soldiers and national guardsmen wishing to vote by mail shall follow the procedure set forth in Article 45 of this Law.


(As supplemented by the 6 February 2014 Law)