Home > 1.3.2.2 Voting procedures > MONTENEGRO - Urgent Joint Opinion on the Draft Law on Elections of Members of Parliament and Councillors
 
 
 
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Paragraph 74
 

Article 111 of the draft law regulates the conditions and the exercise of the right to vote by mail for voters who are – due to age, disability or similar reasons – not able to cast their vote at the polling station. The possibility for such groups of voters to exercise their right to vote is welcome; however, the procedural steps, which have to be followed, appear to be complicated and not transparent enough. Firstly, an authorized person must submit a personally-signed form with the request to vote by letter to the polling board. It is not noticeable that this can be done in advance, i.e. before election day, as only the time limit (1 p.m. on election day) is determined. Secondly, it is not clear what the term “household” in Article 111 para. 5 of the draft law means, especially if it is also applicable to rest homes, special-care homes and hospitals. Finally, the voter has to bring the identity card or passport to the person authorized in order to make the identity check in the polling station. Altogether, the necessary steps to be followed lay some burden on the voter who is not able to come to the polling station and might prevent him from exercising his right to vote. It is recommended to simplify the exercise of the right to vote by mail; in particular, voting in hospitals and nursing homes should be organized by the election management bodies proactively.