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Article 68
 

The Procedure of Tabulation of Votes at the Polling Station

 

1. The votes shall be tabulated openly and transparently by members of the polling station commission at its meeting, which shall be held in the same premises where the voting took place.

 

2. The meeting of the polling station commission shall begin immediately after the end of the voting, proceed without a break and end after protocols on the tabulation of votes at the polling station in the single- and multi-mandate constituencies are signed.

 

3. The polling station commission shall tabulate the votes according to the procedure provided for by this article.

 

4. Should any amendments be made to the voter list during the voting, it shall be signed by the chairperson and the secretary of the polling station commission and sealed with the commission’s seal.

 

5. On the basis of the voter list, the polling station commission shall determine the number of voters in that constituency. That number shall be announced and entered into the protocols of the tabulation of votes cast by voters at the polling station for the multi-mandate and single-mandate constituencies.

 

6. The polling station commission shall count the unused ballots separately for the multi-mandate and the single-mandate constituencies. The number of such ballots for each of the constituencies shall be announced and entered into the protocols of the tabulation of votes cast by voters at the polling station for the multi-mandate and the single-mandate constituencies respectively. An unused ballot shall be cancelled by separating its bottom right corner. Cancelled unused ballots, together with those referred to in the sixteenth paragraph of Article 66 of this law, shall be packed separately for the multi-mandate and the single-mandate constituencies. The packages shall have the inscriptions “Unused ballots for the multi-mandate constituency” or “Unused ballots for the single-mandate constituency”, the number of the single-mandate constituency, the number of polling station, the number of ballots packed in the relevant constituency, the date and time of packing, the signatures of the polling station commission members, and the commission’s seal.

 

7. The polling station commission shall count the number of the voters who have received their ballots by the number of signatures in the voter list.

 

8. The polling station commission shall count the number of control checks from the ballots with the signatures of voters and the polling station commission members who issued them, separately for the multi-mandate and the single-mandate constituencies. The number of control checks for each of these constituencies shall be announced.

 

9. If the number of control checks indicated in the eighth paragraph of this article corresponds to the number of the voters who received the ballots referred to in the seventh paragraph thereof, this number shall be announced and entered into the relevant protocol of the tabulation of votes at the poling station (the column titled “Number of voters who have received ballots”).

 

10. Should the number of control checks referred to in the eighth paragraph of this Article not correspond to the number of the voters’ signatures in the list of the voters who have received ballots, the polling station commission shall draw up an act indicating the established reason for that fact. The present members of the commission shall sign the act. Present authorized representatives of the party (bloc), candidate deputies, or their authorized persons, official observers from parties (blocs), and candidate deputies registered in the single-mandate constituency shall also have the right to sign this act. The seal of the commission shall endorse their signatures. After that, the commission shall decide on the establishing the number of the voters who have received ballots for voting in the respective constituency. This number shall be announced and entered in the relevant protocol of the tabulation of votes at the polling station.

 

11. The voter list, the transcript stipulated by the third paragraph of Article 67 of this Law, the voters’ requests to be given the opportunity of voting outside the premises for voting and the relevant certificates shall be packed in a separate package. The package shall have the inscription “Voter list”, the number of the single-mandate constituency, the date and time of packing, the signatures of the polling station commission members present, and the commission’s seal.

 

12. Control checks of ballots for voting in a multi-mandate constituency and those of ballots for voting in a single-mandate constituency shall be packed in separate packages. The packages shall bear the inscriptions “Control checks for multi-mandate constituency” and “Control checks for single-mandate constituency”, the number of the single-mandate constituency, the date and time of packing, the signatures of the polling station commission members present, and the commission’s seal.

 

13. Prior to opening the ballot boxes, the polling station commission shall check of the sums of unused ballots for the multi-mandate and the single-mandate constituencies each corresponds to the number of voters who have received ballots and the number of ballots for that constituency that the commission has received. Should these data not tally, the polling station commission shall draw up an act indicating the reason it has established for this divergence. The present members of the commission shall sign the act. Present authorized representatives of the party (bloc), candidate deputies, or their authorized persons, official observers from parties (blocs), and candidate deputies registered in the single-mandate constituency shall also have the right to sign this act. The seal of the commission shall endorse their signatures.

 

14. The polling station commission shall verify the integrity of seals on ballot boxes.

 

15. Should it find that the seal on a ballot box was damaged, the commission shall draw up an act indicating the nature of the damage established, which act shall be signed by the present commission members. Present authorized representatives of the party (bloc), candidate deputies, or their authorized persons, official observers from parties (blocs), and candidate deputies registered in the single-mandate constituency shall also have the right to sign this act. The seal of the commission shall endorse their signatures.

 

16. The polling station commission shall open the ballot boxes one by one. Ballot boxes used in the voting outside the voting premises shall be opened in first place. Those found to have damaged seals or other damage established in the course of the voting, if any, shall be the last to be opened.

 

17. In opening an undamaged ballot box, its contents shall be poured onto the table at which the polling station commission members are sitting, and the presence in the box of the checklist shall be checked. Ballots from a damaged ballot box shall be taken out one by one and not mixed. The polling station commission shall count the number of ballots in the box separately for the multi-mandate and the single-mandate constituencies.

 

18. Should the check list be absent from the ballot box, the polling station commission shall draw up a relevant act in accordance with the procedure set up by this Article, stating the number of ballots to be found in that particular ballot box. Those ballots shall not be taken into account in the determining of the total amount of voters who took part in the voting, and in the tabulation of the votes separately for the multi-mandate and the single-mandate constituencies.

 

19. Should there be any doubt as to the authenticity of the checklist, the polling station commission shall vote the decision to exclude the ballots contained in the ballot box from the tabulation of the total number of voters who took part in the voting.

 

20. The ballots to be excluded from the tabulation of the voters who took part in the voting and the tabulation of the votes cast shall be packed separately for the multi- and the single mandate constituencies. The packages shall bear the inscriptions “Ballots not be counted for the multi-mandate constituency” or “ Ballots not be counted for the single-mandate constituency”, the number of the single-mandate constituency, the polling station number, the number of ballots packed for the relevant constituency, date and time of packing, the signatures of the polling station commission members present and the commission’s seal.

 

21. Ballots for voting in a multi-mandate constituency shall be separated from those for voting in a single-mandate one. The polling station commission shall count the total number of ballots separately for the multi-mandate and the single-mandate constituencies.

 

22. In tabulating the ballots, a commission member appointed by the commission shall count the votes out loud. All objects that are not ballots of the established form shall be piled up separately and not counted. Should there be any doubt if an object is a ballot, the polling station shall resolve this question by way of voting. In this, every commission member shall have the right personally to inspect the object. For the time it takes to inspect the object, the tabulation of ballots shall stop. Objects that are not ballots shall be packed into a separate package. The package shall bear the inscription “Objects”, the number of the single-mandate constituency, the polling station number, the number of ballots packed for the relevant constituency, date and time of packing, the signatures of the polling station commission members present and the commission’s seal.

 

23. After the tabulation of ballots in all ballot boxes in accordance with the twenty-first paragraph of this Article, the polling station commission shall count the total number of ballots in the ballot boxes for the multi- and single-mandate constituencies, with the exception of the ballots not eligible for counting in accordance with the eighteenth and nineteenth paragraphs of this Article, and thereby establish the number of voters who took part in the voting for the multi- and the single-mandate constituencies respectively. Each of these numbers shall be announced and entered in the respective protocol of the tabulation of votes at the polling station.

 

24. Ballots in a multi-mandate constituency shall be put in places marked by separate signs having the inscriptions of political parties (blocs), “voided” and “against all” on both sides. After that, ballots in a single-mandate constituency shall be put in places marked by separate signs having the surnames of the deputies registered in that single-mandate constituency, and “voided” and “against all.”

 

25. In sorting out ballots, the commission member appointed by the commission shall show each ballot to all the other commission members, announcing the voter’s will. Should there be any doubt as to the content of the ballot, the commission shall resolve the question by voting. In that, each member of the commission shall have the right personally to inspect the ballot. For the time it takes to inspect the ballot, all work with other ballots shall stop.

 

26. Invalid shall be all ballots which:

1) have no seal of the appropriate polling station commission;

2) have no surname and/or signature of the polling station commission member that has issued it;

3) have more than one mark (for multi-mandate constituency ballots) against the names of parties (blocs), or against the name of a party (bloc) and the phrase “I do not support deputy candidates from any party (bloc)”;

4) have more than one mark (for single-mandate constituency ballots) against the names of candidate deputies or the name of a candidate deputy and the phrase “I do not support any of the candidate people’s deputies of Ukraine”;

5) have no marks at all;

6) have their control checks in place; or

7) cannot reveal the voter’s will for other reasons.

 

27. Should there be any doubt as to the validity of a ballot, the commission shall resolve the question by voting. In that, each member of the commission shall have the right personally to inspect the ballot. For the time it takes to inspect the ballot, all work with other ballots shall stop.

 

28. Invalid ballots shall be counted separately for the multi- and the single-mandate constituencies. Each of these numbers shall be announced and entered in the relevant protocol of the tabulation of votes at that polling station. Invalid ballots shall be packed separately for the multi- and – the single-mandate constituencies. The packages shall have the inscriptions “Voided ballots for the multi-mandate constituency” or “”Voided ballots for the single-mandate constituency”, the number of the single-mandate constituency, the polling station number, the number of voided ballots packed for the relevant constituency, date and time of packing, the signatures of the polling station commission members present and the commission’s seal.

 

29. The polling station commission shall count the number of the votes given for the candidate deputies in a multi-mandate constituency that were included in the ticket of a party (bloc), and the number of the voters who did not support any one of the candidate deputies in a multi-mandate constituency that were included in the list of candidates from all parties (blocs). In the tabulation of the votes, each commission member shall have the right to check or re-count relevant ballots. The results of the tabulation of votes in a multi-mandate constituency shall be announced and entered in the protocol of the tabulation of votes at the polling station in a multi-mandate all-state constituency.

 

30. In the process of counting the votes at the polling station in a multi-mandate constituency, the polling station commission shall verify if the number of voters who took part in the voting at the polling station in that constituency corresponds to the total of voided ballots at the polling station of that constituency, the sum of ballots cast for candidate deputies from each party (bloc), and the number of ballots in which the voters did not support candidates from any party (bloc). Should these data not tally, the polling station commission shall draw up an act, indicating the reason it has established for the lack of correspondence. The act shall be signed by the present members of the polling station commission.  Present authorized representatives of the party (bloc), candidate deputies, or their authorized persons, official observers from parties (blocs), and candidate deputies registered in the single-mandate constituency shall also have the right to sign this act. The seal of the commission shall endorse their signatures.              

 

31. Ballots with votes in a multi-mandate constituency that were cast for candidate deputies from each party (bloc), and ballots in which voters did not support candidate deputies from any party (bloc) shall be packed separately. The packages shall have the name of the party (bloc), “Did not support deputy candidates from any party (bloc)”, the number of the single-mandate constituency, the polling station number, the number of ballots packed for the relevant constituency, date and time of packing, the signatures of the polling station commission members present and the commission’s seal.

 

32. When the polling station commission has finished counting the number of votes at the polling station in a multi-mandate constituency, it shall count the number of votes cast for each candidate deputy in single-mandate constituencies, and the number of voters who did not support any one candidate in that constituency. In the tabulation of votes, each polling station commission member shall have the right to check or re-count relevant ballots. The results of counting the votes at a polling station in a single-mandate constituency shall be announced and entered into the relevant protocol.

 

33. In the process of counting votes at the polling station in a single-mandate constituency, the polling station commission shall verify if the number of voters who took part in the voting at that polling station in that constituency corresponds to the sum of voided ballots at the polling station in that constituency, the ballots cast for deputy candidates in the single-mandate constituency, and the number of ballots in which the voters did not support any candidate deputy. Should these data not tally, the polling station commission shall draw up an act, indicating the reason it has established for the lack of correspondence. The act shall be signed by the present members of the polling station commission.  Present authorized representatives of the party (bloc), candidate deputies, or their authorized persons, official observers from parties (blocs), and candidate deputies registered in the single-mandate constituency shall also have the right to sign this act. The seal of the commission shall endorse their signatures.

 

34. Ballots with votes in a single-mandate constituency cast for each candidate deputy in that single-mandate constituency, and ballots in which voters did not support any candidate deputy shall be packed separately. The packages shall have the surname and initials of each relevant candidate deputy, the phrase “Did not support any candidate deputy”, the number of the single-mandate constituency, the polling station number, the number of the ballots packed, date and time of packing, the signatures of the poling station commission members present and the commission’s seal.