Protocols of Precinct Election Commission on Vote Counting
1. At its meeting, the precinct election commission shall draw up a protocol on the counting of votes at the election district from each local election in each constituency in which voting took place at the election district.
The form of the protocol of the precinct election commission on the counting of votes at the election district shall be approved by the Central Election Commission not later than thirty days before the day of the next local elections.
It is prohibited to draw up protocols of precinct election commissions on the counting of votes at the polling station in a manner other than that determined by the Central Election Commission in accordance with this Code.
The protocol of the precinct election commission on the counting of votes at the polling station may be prepared by technical means. The procedure for drawing up and requirements to the protocols of the polling station election commission on the counting of votes at the polling station shall be established by the Central Election Commission.
2. The protocol of a precinct election commission on vote counting submitted for territorial electoral lists of candidates for the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, oblast, rayon, rayon in the city, as well as city, village, settlement council (a territorial community with 10,000 or more voters) at the election precinct shall contain the following data, entered in numbers:
1) the number of ballot papers received by the precinct election commission;
2) the number of unused ballot papers stamped accordingly by the precinct election commission;
3) the number of voters included in the voter list for the election precinct (by the end of the voting);
4) the number of voters included in the excerpt from the voter list at the election precinct for voting at the place of voters’ stay;
5) the number of voters who received ballot papers in the premises for voting;
6) the number of voters who received ballot papers at the place of their stay;
7) the total number of voters who received ballot papers;
8) the number of ballot papers that are not subject to counting;
9) the number of voters who took part in the voting at the election precinct;
10) the total number of invalid ballot papers at the election precinct;
11) the number of votes of voters who supported territorial electoral lists of candidates for local council from each party organization;
12) the number of votes of voters who supported the territorial electoral list from each party organization;
13) the number of votes of voters who supported each candidate included in the territorial electoral list from each party organization;
14) the number of votes of voters who supported the entire territorial list from each party organization, without supporting a single candidate from this list.
The protocol of a precinct election commission on vote counting submitted for candidates in a multi-member constituency, candidates for the position of the village, settlement, or city mayor shall contain the following data, entered in numbers:
1) the number of ballot papers received by the precinct election commission;
2) the number of unused ballot papers stamped accordingly by the precinct election commission;
3) the number of voters included in the voter list for the election precinct (by the end of the voting);
4) the number of voters included in the excerpt from the voter list at the election precinct for voting at the place of voters’ stay;
5) the number of voters who received ballot papers in the premises for voting;
6) the number of voters who received ballot papers at the place of their stay;
7) the total number of voters who received ballot papers;
8) the number of ballot papers that are not subject to counting;
9) the number of voters who took part in the voting at the election precinct;
10) the total number of invalid ballot papers at the election precinct;
11) the number of votes for each candidate.
3. The protocol on the counting of votes from each local election for each district, in the district in which the voting is held at the election precinct, shall be drawn up by the precinct election commission in four copies. The copies of the protocols shall be numbered and shall have equal legal force.
4. The protocols of the precinct election commission on vote counting at the election precinct shall specify the date and time (hours and minutes) of their signing by the precinct election commission members. Each copy of the protocols shall be signed by the head, deputy head, secretary, and other members of the precinct election commission present at the election commission’s meeting. If a member of the commission disagrees with the vote-counting results entered in a protocol, that member shall sign the protocol with a note “With dissenting opinion.” A written dissenting opinion shall be attached to the protocol of the precinct election commission on vote counting at the election precinct. Failure or refusal of individual members of the precinct election commission to sign a vote-counting protocol at the election precinct shall entail no legal consequences for the validity of the protocol. In the case of the absence of the signature of the precinct election commission member in a vote-counting protocol at the election precinct, the reasons for the absence of the signature shall be indicated next to his or her last name. Such protocol shall be signed by the precinct election commission members and affixed with the precinct election commission’s seal only after it has been fully completed.
The first and second copies of the protocol on the counting of votes at the election precinct may also be signed by candidates, their proxies, authorized persons of party organizations, official observers present at the meeting of the polling station commission during the counting of votes.
5. It shall be prohibited to fill out the protocols of the precinct election commission on vote counting at the election precinct by a pencil or to make any changes thereto without a respective commission decision, as well as to sign it and certify with the seal of the precinct election commission until the final completion.
6. If after the signing of the protocols of the precinct election commission on vote counting at the election precinct in the respective election district, the precinct election commission discovers inaccuracies (a slip of the pen or an erroneous number), it shall consider the issue of introducing changes to the protocol by completing a new protocol; such protocol shall be marked “Corrected.” The ballot papers shall not be re-counted. A protocol marked “Corrected” shall be completed in the order and the number of copies specified in this Article.
7. The first and second copies of the protocol of the precinct election commission on the counting of votes at the precinct for the respective local elections in the respective district and if available - and the relevant copies of the protocol marked "Corrected," the act of issuing copies of the protocol shall be packed into packages. The package shall bear the inscription "Protocol on vote-counting," the name of the local elections, the designation and/or a number of the district, the number of the election district, the date and time of packing, the signatures of the present members of the district election commission and the seal of the commission. The third copy of the protocol of the precinct election commission on the counting of votes at the precinct submitted in the relevant local elections in the respective constituency, as well as the protocol marked "Corrected" (if drawn up), shall be kept by the secretary of the precinct election commission, the fourth copy "Corrected" in case of its compilation) - immediately posted for public review in the premises of the precinct election commission.
8. The precinct election commission members, candidates, their proxies, authorized persons of party organizations, official observers present during the counting of votes at the polling station shall, at their request, be immediately provided with copies of the protocol on local elections in the relevant district, including marked "Corrected," certified by the chairman and secretary of the precinct election commission and sealed by the commission, at the rate of not more than one copy of each protocol for each member of the commission, each local party organization that nominated candidates in a single multi-member election district, each candidate. Copies of the protocol of the precinct election commission on the counting of votes at the election district may be made by technical means.
9. The precinct election commission shall prepare a report, of a form approved by the Central Election Commission, recording the handover of copies of the protocols of the precinct election commission on vote counting. The report shall contain a list of persons who received copies of the respective protocol, the date and time of the receipt of such copies, and the signatures of such persons. The report shall be signed by the head and the secretary of the precinct election commission and affixed with the precinct election commission’s seal. The report shall be packed in the package together with the first and second copies of the protocol of the precinct election commission on vote counting at the election precinct.
10. After the end of the election commission’s meeting, the packages with the protocols of the precinct election commission on vote counting at the election precinct, the ballot papers, counterfoils and items, voter lists, and also written dissenting opinions of the election commission members (if any), reports, applications, complaints, and decisions adopted by the election commission, shall be delivered to the respective territorial election commission, in a manner specified by Article 253 of the Code.
