Electronic Vote Count Monitoring
The Government of Romania has announced a new measure to enhance the transparency of the legislative elections due in December.
Valentin Țigău, 19.10.2016, 13:14
Free, democratic, transparent and correct elections are still a goal that many feel is yet to be reached in post-communist Romania. Since the first free elections, in 1990, to this day, the scope of the protests in this respect have forced authorities to seek efficient solutions to make the election process more transparent and to prevent fraud.
In this year’s local elections, for instance, a software was introduced to prevent voting fraud. Installed on each computer in polling stations, the software includes a data reader, similar to the card readers in retail stores, which registers data from the voters’ ID. The system indicates multiple voting attempts and shows if a person is in a different constituency than the one where they have the right to vote.
To further strengthen the transparency of the electoral process, the Interior Ministry made public a draft government order on Monday, to the effect that the final part of the parliamentary elections due this winter will be videotaped. This is for the first time that the ballot counting is filmed, and it is precisely in order to address the lingering suspicions regarding this part of the voting process. The computer operator in the Election Bureau of each polling station will be in charge with the audio and video recording of the activity starting with the closing of the station and until the Bureau members leave the premises.
The recording will be made from a fixed position, at a medium distance, on a single large frame. The operator cannot make copies or allow the access of third parties to the recordings, which will be handed to the Special Telecommunications Service for storage for a maximum 3-month period. The recordings are to be destroyed after that period.
The Interior Ministry is to procure the self-adhesive labels and clear plastic bags, with serial numbers and seal systems, and to produce the “VOTED” stamps required in the procedure. On Tuesday, Interior Minister Dragos Tudorache told prefects that the goal of the authorities is to organise this year the least contested elections to date. He also requested strict compliance with the deadlines in the election calendar.
The elections for the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies will be held on December 11. Last week, the Central Electoral Bureau accepted the lists of candidates submitted by some of the 20 ethnic minorities in Romania, including the Ukrainian Union, the German Democratic Forum, the Roma Party, the Croatian Union, the Greek Union, the Federation of Jewish Communities. Last week was also the deadline for parties and independent candidates to submit participation lists for the December elections in constituencies outside the country, representing the Romanian Diaspora. (traslation by AM Popescu)
