Counting of votes and preference crosses
Any list and/or individual candidate may attend the vote counting process personally or appoint special representatives at local polling stations to monitor the overall work until the process of sorting and counting of votes has been completed.

The sorting and counting of votes will take place at local polling stations as soon as the ballot is closed, under the responsibility and supervision of the presiding officer of each polling station, separately.

As soon as the ballot is closed, each ballot box shall be opened on the spot at the polling station, under the responsibility and supervision of the presiding officer and, in the presence of the candidates’ representatives, the sorting and counting procedure shall begin.

During the procedure for the sorting and counting of votes, only officials, candidates, representatives of lists and individual candidates and no other persons may be present at the polling station. Their representatives shall not intervene in the counting. During the sorting and counting of votes, representatives may not hold or use any ballot papers or stationery forms to record the results.

The presiding officer proceeds with the process of counting the votes and marks the word “invalid” on each ballot paper which he discards as spoilt.

Spoilt ballot papers
The presiding officer shall reject as spoilt any ballot paper:

· That does not bear the official stamp.

· That contains any letter or mark by which the identity of the voter can be ascertained.

· Of which any essential part is missing or which does not contain all lists and candidates participating in the elections.

· On which the voter has voted two or more lists or one list and one independent candidate.

· On which the voter has voted by using any other mark or letter or number, other than the designated signs “X”, “+”, “√”.

· On which the voter has voted using a pen of a different colour, other than the blue or black pen available for this purpose

· By which it is not possible to verify the voter’s will. A blank ballot paper is spoilt because it is impossible to verify the voter’s will, but it is counted and recorded separately from the other spoilt ballot papers for statistical reasons (a “blank ballot paper” means a ballot paper on which the voter has failed to mark one of the designated signs «X» or «+» or «√», or any other sign, letter or number by which the ballot paper becomes spoilt).

Specific cases

• When a voter votes a list normally and at the same time marks a cross or preference crosses for candidates of a different list, the vote cast to the list shall prevail. In other words, the ballot paper is valid only in relation to the party vote, whereas the preference crosses marked for candidates from another list shall be disregarded.

• Ballot papers containing on any part of the column corresponding to each party list / coalition of parties / independent candidates or to each independent / individual candidate, one of the marks «X», «+» or «√» or any other mark similar to these, shall be considered as valid.

Before discarding as spoilt any ballot paper, the presiding officer shall show it to the representative of the list/candidate who is present at the polling station and once he has heard his opinion, he shall take the final decision. The decision of the presiding officer is final and is not subject to any electoral request.



Dispatch of the results to the Elections Officer
After completion of the sorting and counting of votes procedure, the recording of the final results and the sorting and counting of the preference crosses, the Presiding officer of each polling station shall dispatch without any further delay the counting sheet and transfer the ballot box with its content to the Election Officer of the relevant Constituency.