Draft Decree on vote-counting in the elections

Sviatlana Tikhanouskaya’s special representative on elections Alexander Shlyk presented a draft decree on how the vote count may be organized in the new presidential elections in Belarus.

You can download the draft decree on vote-counting in PDF format, as well as an example of the minutes for precinct commissions.

Below is the entire text of the draft. The draft has been put up for public discussion and you can comment on it on this page below or email [email protected].

The Draft Decree

of the Central Commission of the Republic of Belarus for Elections and National Referendums

On Clarification of Application of Provisions of the Electoral Code of the Republic of Belarus on the procedure for counting votes

at the polling station during the elections of the President of the Republic of Belarus in 2021

By paragraph 3 of part one of Article 33 of the Electoral Code of the Republic of Belarus (hereinafter referred to as the Electoral Code),  to uniformly apply the provisions of Article 55 of the Electoral Code of the Republic of Belarus providing for the procedure for counting votes at the polling station for the election of the President of the Republic, the Central Commission of the Republic of Belarus for Elections and National Referendums (hereinafter referred to as the Central Commission) DECIDES:

To clarify that:

1. The counting of votes shall be conducted openly and transparently by members of the precinct election commission (hereinafter referred to as the commission) in the room where the voting was held.
2. The vote counting procedure starts immediately after the voting is completed and the polling station is closed and is conducted directly by the members of the precinct election commission without interruption until the results of voting are received.
3. The place where the counting is conducted by the commission shall be equipped in such a way as to ensure that all actions of the commission members and the content of all ballot papers are visible to all persons present during the counting, including observers and other persons authorized to be in the voting room.
4. Observers and other persons entitled to be in the voting room may move freely in the polling station premises.
5. All steps in the counting of votes shall be carried out in the sequence described in this decree. The counting of votes for different electoral processes (elections, referendums) shall be conducted separately and in the sequence determined by a separate decree. The members of the commission shall collegially determine who is responsible for carrying out the vote-counting procedures defined by this decree unless otherwise defined by this decree.
6. During the count, an enlarged copy of the minutes shall be used and shall be placed in such a manner as to ensure its visibility to all persons present during the count, including observers and other persons authorized to be in the voting room. The data in the enlarged copy of the minutes shall be entered by the secretary of the commission. Necessary changes shall be made in the enlarged copy of the minutes by crossing out the original data and entering the corrected data in the same line of the enlarged copy of the minutes.
7. Before opening the ballot boxes, a member of the commission shall announce the number of ballot papers received by the commission, which shall be entered in line 1 of the enlarged copy of the minutes, and shall count aloud and announce the number of unused ballot papers, which shall be entered in line 2 of the enlarged copy of the minutes. The unused ballot papers are then cancelled by cutting off their upper left corners and placed in bags with the precinct number and the inscription “unused ballot papers”. The bags shall be placed in such a way as to ensure that they are visible to all persons present during the count, including observers and other persons authorized to be in the voting room.
8. One of the commission members shall count aloud and announce the number of damaged ballot papers, which shall be entered in line 3 of the enlarged copy of the minutes. The damaged ballot papers shall be placed in bags with the number of the polling station and the inscription ” damaged ballot papers” written on them. The bags shall be placed in such a way that they are visible to all persons present during the count, including observers and other persons authorized to be in the voting room.
9. Based on the voter lists, the total number of voters in the polling station shall be announced aloud and entered in line 4 of the enlarged copy of the minutes, as well as the number of voters entered in the voter list on election day shall be announced separately and entered in line 4.1 of the enlarged copy of the minutes.
10. The appointed members of the commission shall determine the number of voters who received ballot papers by counting the signatures of voters in the voter lists and tabulation sheets. The number of voters who received ballot papers shall be announced aloud and entered in line 5 of the enlarged copy of the minutes. Line 5.1 of the enlarged copy of the minutes shall include the number of voters who participated in early voting, obtained by summing up the data on the number of voters who participated in voting during each day of early voting, established based on the minutes for each day of the early voting, the data from which shall be entered in separate subparagraphs of line 5.1. Line 5.2 of the enlarged copy of the minutes shall include the number of voters who participated in the voting at the place of location, established by counting the signatures in the tabulation sheet prepared for voting at the place of location. Line 5.3 of the enlarged copy of the minutes shall include the number of voters who participated in voting on election day in the polling station premises, established by counting the signatures in the voter list, except for the signatures of those voters who voted during early voting and whose names were marked accordingly in the voter list.
11. No changes may be made to the lists of eligible citizens and tabulation sheets after the polling place has closed.
12. Before opening the ballot boxes, members of the commission and observers shall make sure of the integrity of sealing, as well as of the boxes for early voting, portable boxes used for voting at the location of voters, ballot boxes located in the premises of the polling station on election day.
13. Ballot boxes shall be opened one by one: first the number of ballot papers in the ballot box used for early voting shall be counted, read aloud, and entered in line 6.1 of the enlarged copy of the minutes, then the number of ballot papers in the ballot box used for early voting shall be counted, read aloud and entered in line 6. 2 of the enlarged copy of the minutes, the number of ballot papers in the mobile boxes used for voting at the voters’ location, and then the number of ballot papers removed from the ballot boxes located in the polling station premises on the election day shall be counted, read aloud and entered in line 6.3 of the enlarged copy of the minutes. Line 6 of the enlarged copy of the minutes shall include the total number of ballot papers used for voting obtained by summing up the numbers in lines 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3 of the enlarged copy of the minutes. The contents of the ballot papers shall not be announced at this stage.
14. After the steps in paras. 7-13 of this Decree, following Control Ratios, shall be verified by the Clerk of the Commission:

14.1 Verification of Control Ratio A shall be made by comparing the number entered on line 1 of the enlarged copy of the minutes with the sum of the numbers entered on line 2, line 3, line 6 of the enlarged copy of the minutes. In this way, the accounting of all ballot papers received by the election commission is checked. If there is a discrepancy between the numbers compared, the unused and damaged ballots shall be recalculated first and the necessary changes shall be made in the enlarged copy of the minutes. If the discrepancy is not eliminated after the recount, the ballots in the ballot box used for early voting, the ballots in the portable boxes used for voting at the location of voters, and the ballots removed from the ballot boxes located in the polling station premises on the election day shall be recounted and the necessary changes shall be made to the enlarged copy of the minutes. If after recounting the ballot papers, the sum of the numbers entered in line 2, line 3, and line 6 of the enlarged copy of the minutes does not equal the number in line 1 of the enlarged copy of the minutes, the Precinct Election Commission shall draw up a corresponding act attached to the minutes and enter the data on the discrepancy in special lines of the minutes: line 8 “Number of lost ballot papers” and line 9 “Number of ballot papers not accounted for upon receipt”.

14.2 Verification of the Control Ratio B1 is carried out by comparing the number in line 5.1 of the enlarged copy of the minutes with the number in line 6.1 of the enlarged copy of the minutes. If there is a discrepancy between the numbers compared, the ballot papers in the ballot box used for early voting shall be recounted and the necessary changes shall be made in the enlarged copy of the minutes. If the discrepancy is not eliminated after the recount, the Precinct Election Commission draws up a corresponding act attached to the minutes and enters the data on the discrepancy in special lines of the minutes: line 10 “Number of ballot papers lost during early voting” and line 11 “Number of ballot papers not accounted for when issued during early voting”.

14.3 Verification of Control Ratio B2 shall be performed by comparing the number in line 5.2 of the enlarged copy of the minutes with the number in line 6.2 of the enlarged copy of the minutes. If there is a discrepancy between the numbers compared, the ballot papers in the mobile boxes used for voting at the location of voters shall be recounted and the necessary changes shall be made to the enlarged copy of the minutes. If the discrepancy is not eliminated after the recount, the Precinct Election Commission draws up a corresponding act attached to the minutes and enters the data on the discrepancy in special lines of the minutes: line 12 “Number of ballot papers lost during voting at the location of voters” and line 13 “Number of ballot papers not accounted for when issued during voting at the location of voters”.

14.4 Verification of Control Ratio B3 shall be carried out by comparing the number in line 5.3 of the enlarged copy of the minutes with the number in line 6.3 of the enlarged copy of the minutes. If there is a discrepancy between the numbers compared, the ballot papers removed from the ballot boxes located in the polling station premises on election day shall be recounted and the necessary changes shall be made to the enlarged copy of the minutes. If the discrepancy is not eliminated after the recount, the Precinct Election Commission draws up a corresponding act attached to the minutes and enters the data on the discrepancy in special lines of the minutes: line 14 “Number of ballot papers lost during voting in the polling station premises” and line 15 “Number of ballot papers not accounted for when issued during voting in the polling station premises”.

14.5 Verification of Control Ratio B shall be carried out by comparing the number in line 5 of the enlarged copy of the minutes with the number in line 6 of the enlarged copy of the minutes. This compares the number of voters who received ballot papers with the number of ballot papers found in all boxes. If the number in line 6 of the enlarged copy of the minutes is different from the number in line 5 of the enlarged copy of the minutes, the election commission shall draw up a corresponding act attached to the minutes.

15. After completion of the verification of Control Ratios A, B1, B2, B3, and B, the bags with unused and damaged ballots shall be sealed. The number of unused and damaged ballots shall be inscribed on the packets. The packages shall be signed by the chairperson and the secretary of the commission in the presence of members of the commission, observers, and other persons authorized to be in the voting room.
16. Ballot papers from different ballot boxes shall be mixed before the expression of the will of the voters is determined.
17. Ballot papers shall be placed in the places designated by the plates with the names of candidates on both sides, as well as by the plate with the inscription “against all” and the plate with the inscription “invalid”. When ballot papers are distributed, one member of the election commission shall show each ballot paper in such a way that the content of the ballot paper is visible to all members of the commission, observers, and other persons entitled to be in the voting room, while announcing aloud the result of the expression of the voters’ will. In case of doubts regarding the expression of the voters’ will, the decision shall be made by voting by the members of the commission. Each member of the commission has the right to carefully read the content of the ballot paper.
18. The ballot papers of an unidentified sample, the ballot papers on the reverse side of which there are no signatures of the persons who are members of the commission, the ballot papers, the marking of which does not allow to unambiguously determine the expression of the voters’ will, shall be recognized invalid. In case of doubts about the validity of a ballot paper, the issue shall be resolved by the commission by voting by a simple majority.
19. After the ballot papers have been distributed, one of the members of the commission shall count aloud the votes cast for each candidate in turn. During the counting, any member of the commission has the right to recheck or recount the ballot papers concerned. The result of the counting of votes cast for a candidate, votes cast against all candidates, and ballot papers declared invalid shall be announced aloud and entered in the corresponding subparagraphs of line 7 of the enlarged copy of the minutes. Line 7 of the enlarged copy of the minutes shall include the sum of the numbers entered in all subparagraphs of line 7 of the enlarged copy of the minutes.
20. After the steps in Section 19 of this Decree have been completed, the Clerk of the Commission shall verify the Control Ratio B:

20.1 Verification of Control Ratio B shall be accomplished by comparing the number entered on line 6 of the enlarged copy of the minutes with the number entered on line 7 of the enlarged copy of the minutes. This checks whether the total number of ballot papers used for voting corresponds to the sum of ballot papers cast for all candidates, ballot papers cast against all candidates, and invalid ballot papers. If a discrepancy between the numbers compared is found, the ballot papers cast for all candidates and the ballot papers declared invalid shall be recounted. If the discrepancy is not eliminated after the recount, the Precinct Election Commission shall draw up an act attached to the minutes, indicating the established reason for the discrepancy, which shall be signed by the members of the Commission present and sealed. The act shall also be signed by authorized persons of candidates and observers.

21. After the counting of votes is completed, a meeting of the commission shall be held at which the results of the vote counting shall be established and entered in the minutes. The relevant lines of the minutes shall indicate (1) the number of ballot papers received by the commission; (2) the number of unused ballot papers; (3) the number of damaged ballot papers; (4) the total number of voters entered in the voter lists, including (4.1) the number of voters entered in the voter list on election day; (5) the number of voters who received ballot papers, including (5. 1) the number of voters who received ballots during early voting, with data for each day of early voting entered in the appropriate subparagraph of line 5.1, (5.2) the number of voters who received ballots during mobile voting, (5.3) the number of voters who received ballot papers during voting in the voting room; (6) the number of ballot papers used for voting, including (6. 1) the number of ballot papers used for early voting, (6.2) the number of ballot papers used for voting at the location, (6. 3) the number of ballot papers used for voting in the voting room; (7.) the total number of votes cast for all candidates, against all candidates, ballot papers invalidated, including the number of votes cast for each candidate with data entered in the corresponding subparagraphs of line 7, the number of votes cast against all candidates with data entered in the penultimate subparagraph of line 7, the number of ballot papers invalidated with data entered in the last subparagraph of line 7.
22. It is not allowed to fill in the minutes in pencil and make any corrections to it. The minutes shall be signed by the chairman, deputy chairman, secretary, and members of the commission. At the meeting of the commission, special opinions of the commission members, if any, as well as complaints and statements about violations during voting or counting of votes shall be considered.
23. After the minutes are finalized, the ballot papers cast for candidates, against all candidates and invalidated ballot papers shall be packed in separate bags on which shall be inscribed the number of the precinct and placed the inscription with the name of the candidate, the inscription “against all” and the inscription “invalid ballot papers” respectively, as well as the corresponding number of ballot papers cast for each candidate, against all candidates recognized as invalid. The packages shall be sealed and signed by the Chairperson and the Secretary of the Commission in the presence of members of the Commission, observers, and other persons authorized to be in the voting room.
24. A copy of the minutes of the commission after its signing shall be immediately exhibited open for the public in a place established by the commission, which is accessible to observers and voters 24 hours a day. At the request of an observer, the commission shall be obliged to provide them with copies of the minutes for each day of early voting and the minutes of the results of voting certified by the signatures of the chairperson and secretary of the commission.