Home > 1.3.2.3 Counting procedures/validity of ballots > MOLDOVA - Electoral Code 2016 and 2017 Law for Amending and Completing Certain Legislative Acts (Electoral System for the Election of Parliament)
 
 
 
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Article 57
 

Invalid Ballots


(1) The following types of ballots shall be considered invalid:


a) ballots with the identity numbers of district and precinct which do not correspond to respective numbers of district and polling station where the ballot was cast in a ballot box;
b) ballots on other than the legally approved form;
c) ballots on which the stamp “Voted” (“Votat” in the original) has been applied in more than one rectangle;
d) ballots on which the stamp “Voted” has not been applied in any rectangle;
e) ballots in which the voter has added the name of other additional candidates;
f) torn ballot with a mark indicating a choice for one candidate has been altered, erased or crossed out and as a result the voter’s option is not clear.


(2) As long as the intention of the voter is clear, the ballot may not be declared invalid simply because the voter applied several times the “Voted” stamp in a single rectangle, or applied it outside the circle of the rectangle or on the electoral contestant’s symbol or sign.


(3) Prior to declaring a ballot invalid, the chairperson of the precinct electoral bureau shall provide all members of the bureau and persons authorised to observe electoral procedures with an opportunity to scrutinise it.


(4) If members of the precinct electoral bureau have doubts about the validity of a ballot, the question shall be decided by a vote, and the results of the vote shall be entered in the minutes of bureau’s meeting.