A
document or other type of communication informing the counting centre of the
departure of the vehicle from a voting station should be made.
This
communication, whether through phone, email or SMS, should provide the counting
centre with the following information:
- name of driver,
- name of passengers and EMB official in charge,
- number of ballot boxes and respective voting station
numbers,
- ballot box seal numbers,
- compartment seal numbers,
- departure time,
- the route that the vehicle is taking,
- type of vehicle, etc.
This document/information will be checked against
actual information provided at the time of unloading the vehicle.
Quantities of ballot boxes and their voting station numbers should be
carefully checked. If discrepancies are found, they should be noted on the log
and the electoral management body should be informed immediately.
If ballot boxes are missing, verification electoral
officers should verify with the departure point to ensure that the information
provided at the time of departure did not change. It is possible that a ballot
box may have been routed through another vehicle.
If the vehicle transporting the ballot boxes has a separate sealed
compartment, the serial numbers of the seals should be verified against the
information provided prior to departure.
The driver should not break the seal unless an election official of the
counting centre is present and has verified the number. All other steps
mentioned above apply.
Once all the information is checked and verified, the
official responsible for the receipt of the ballot box should sign the waybill
and indicate the arrival and completion times and date.
The driver and representatives of political parties and candidates who
accompanied the ballot boxes should also sign this waybill. Each of them should
be allowed to keep a copy.
In case the EMB official accompanying the material is
not able to produce the waybill or the transportation form for the election
official, special measures should be taken.
Identification of the EMB official, driver and
passenger(s) should be verified against the information transmitted by phone/email
or other means. The license plate and the number of the seal on the vehicle
compartment should be verified as well.
If all this information is confirmed, the officials
may process the ballot boxes as per laid down procedures. However, the official
responsible for the receipt of the ballot boxes at the counting centre should
make an entry in the logbook regarding the absence of the
waybill/transportation form. In all cases, discrepancies should be promptly
reported to the electoral management body.
