(1) Immediately after the closing of the polling station, the polling station commission shall, in accordance with the procedures specified by the Central Election Commission, seal the ballot boxes, close the electoral rolls and prepare the premises for the counting of votes. Election materials not used in voting shall be packed or placed in a manner that does not hinder the counting of votes.
(2) The polling station commission shall prepare a vote counting report regarding the counting of votes in two copies.
(3) Prior to the opening of ballot boxes, the polling station commission shall enter in the vote counting report information on the received, used, and spare ballot envelopes, the number of voters at the polling station and at the location of voters. Sealed ballot envelopes which have not been used in voting shall be cancelled.
(4) The ballot boxes shall be opened after entering the information referred to in Paragraph two of this Section in the vote counting report and the packaging of materials and ballot envelopes not used in the counting of votes. The ballot boxes shall be opened one by one and the ballot envelopes shall be counted.
(5) Ballot envelopes taken out of each ballot box, without opening them, shall be sorted into valid and invalid ballot envelopes.
(6) Torn ballot envelopes and such ballot envelopes which are not stamped with the seal of the relevant election commission shall be deemed to be invalid, except for the postal ballot envelopes sent in accordance with the procedures laid down in Section 33.2 of this Law.
(7) Invalid ballot envelopes shall be counted and packaged unopened, specifying that the pack contains invalid ballot envelopes and the number thereof. The total number of invalid ballot envelopes shall be entered in the vote counting report.
(8) The number of valid ballot envelopes taken out of each ballot box shall be equal to or less than the relevant number of voters.
(9) If a ballot box contains ballot papers which are not inserted in ballot envelopes, they shall be cancelled and packaged in accordance with the procedures specified by the Central Election Commission.
[11 November 2004; 11 June 2020; 20 October 2022]
