Organisation : Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan
Facility : Polling Process
Country : Afghanistan
Polling Process : https://www.electionin.org/uploads/114-reg_polling_eng.pdf
Home Page : http://www.iec.org.af/
Complaints against Polling Process :
1) The following persons may file complaints about electoral infringements and violations:
** Citizens eligible to vote
** Accredited agents and responsible authorities
2) If not satisfied with the decision of the station’s chairperson, the objector or the person who has been challenged may file a complaint with the Electoral Complaint Commission.
3) Cases related to challenges and complaints shall be referred to the Electoral Complaint Commission taking into account the relevant regulation.
Polling :
1) A voter shall mark his/her favorite candidate by his/her own will on a ballot paper secretly.
2) Electoral staff shall provide a voter with required information on how to mark his/her favorite candidate on the ballot before he/she enters voting screen. Electoral staff, by no means, shall influence or attempt to influence the voter’s choice either directly or indirectly.
3) A voter who needs assistance may request an authorized and reliable person including the polling station chairperson to assist him/her with marking a ballot paper as follows:
a) A person assisting a voter in marking a ballot paper shall mark the ballot in the voter’s presence in the way the voter wishes.
b) No person except a polling station’s chairperson may assist more than one voter in a polling station to vote. The person must hold a voter registration card.
c) Any assistance given to a voter in accordance with this article shall be recorded in the journal of the polling station.
d) The person assisting a voter, who needs help, must respect secrecy of the voter’s vote.
4) Each voter’s finger shall be marked with both special inks before receiving a ballot paper. An individual whose finger has been marked with the special ink shall not be allowed to enter a polling station except if he/she comes to assist a person whoneeds assistance.
5) If more than one election is held on the same day, each voter has the right to vote in the elections held on that day.
6) If a ballot paper is damaged in a way that causes the ballot to be invalidated, the ballot issuer may provide the voter with a new ballot. In this case, the spoiled ballot shall be kept and the issue be recorded in the polling station journal and result form.
7) Ballots of a center or station shall not be transferred to another center or station.
8) Only 600 ballot papers shall be used in one polling station.
9) When all the ballots are finished in a station or center, the polling process shall be stopped and the agents and observers may stay with the ballot boxes until the counting process begins.
10) If a polling center encounters shortage of ballot papers, ballots shall not be sent to the center, yet a new station shall be established inside the center providing that request for establishing a new station is made before one o clock pm on Election Day and that the distance between the center and provincial office is less than one hour.
Post-Polling Period :
1. After the last voter casts his/her ballot, the polling station chairperson shall seal the ballot boxes, collect the polling materials and keep them in a safe place and keep record of all the ballots.
2. Sealing ballot boxes and keeping record of ballot papers shall be observed and monitored by the agents, observers and media representatives. In case of non-presence of agents, observers and media representatives, the matter shall be recorded in the journal of the polling station and confirmed by the polling center manager.