The DEC #94 in Obukhiv (Kyiv oblast) issued precinct election commissions "additional ballot papers" during submission of electoral documents, and send them to correct protocols, informs OPORA's observer.

Such extraordinary situation occurred as a result of a procedural violation. According to the Head of DEC, the CEC brought a part of ballot papers less than in 24 hours before the voting day, and the Commission had neither time, nor money for transportation.

We remind that according to the Article 82(3) of the Law of Ukraine on Elections of People's Deputies of Ukraine, the DEC should transfer ballots within time constraints provided by the Law:

 - A district election commission shall transfer the ballot papers to the precinct election commissions of the respective district at a meeting of the district election commission no sooner than three days prior to the day of voting, but no later than 24 hours prior to the day of voting. The ballot papers shall be received by no less than three members of each precinct election commission.

The CEC explained to the Civil Network OPORA that these electoral documents should have been transferred to precincts, as long as only PECs can invalidate unused ballot papers.

We remind that the procedure of invalidation of unused ballot papers is provided by the Article 89(7) of the Law of Ukraine on Elections of People's Deputies of Ukraine:

 - The unused nationwide election district ballot papers and single-mandate election district ballot papers shall be invalidated by cutting off the bottom right corner of the ballot papers. - The invalidated unused ballot papers, together with the ballot papers indicated in Part eleven of Article 85 of this Law, shall be packed in separate packages under the procedure established by Part six of Article 87 of this Law. The inscription “Unused nationwide election district ballot papers” or “Unused single-mandate election district ballot papers” shall be made on the packages.

The CEC confirmed that some precincts in the district #94 ordered more ballot papers, but they couldn't say when they were provided. Although they promised to get this information, the OPORA didn't manage to talk with the CEC after this conversation – nobody picked up the phone or put it for two days. It should be mentioned that the DEC couldn't show the handover act. There was a protocol, but without date description – only signed, as long as there were personnel rotations in the DEC, and the Commission didn't manage to fill in the documents properly. Such information was provided by the DEC Head to OPORA's observer.

However, we should also mention that the DEC #94 was among the first commissions in Kyiv oblast that finished the vote tabulation. As of today, the vote tabulation is finished in districts #92, 93, 94 and 95.

For comment, please contact:
Ruslana Velychko,
Electoral Programs Coordinator at Civil Network OPORA
in Kyiv oblast
063 187 41 06
 
Reference:
Civic monitoring conducted by OPORA - is a type of network activity, aimed at impartial assessment of the preparation and conduct of elections, as well as preventing electoral violations through comprehensive civic action.
Starting from September 2014, Civil Network OPORA conducts a large-scale observation of special parliamentary elections in Ukraine. The organization will attract 213 long-term observers in every region of Ukraine to monitor the campaign from its official start to announcement of the final election results. On the Election Day on May 26, more than 2,000 activists will join them to conduct statistically-based parallel vote tabulation.