Acts

Rules of Procedure

VII. VOTING

1. General Provisions

Article 115

The National Assembly shall adopt decisions by a vote of the Deputies, in accordance with the Constitution, Bills, and the present Rules of Procedure.

Article 116

The Deputies shall vote 'For' a motion, 'Against' a motion, or shall abstain from voting.

2. Open Voting

Article 117

The National Assembly shall decide by open voting either by using the electronic voting system, by show of hands, or by roll call.

Article 118

Deputies shall vote openly by using the electronic voting system in the manner defined by the present Rules of Procedure.
A vote shall be taken by show of hands, in the manner specified by the present Rules of Procedure, only if the electronic voting system is not operational, if the sitting takes place at premises not equipped with such system, or if the National Assembly should so decide prior to the vote.
At a Deputy's request, the National Assembly may decide, without a debate, to vote by roll call in the manner defined by the present Rules of Procedure.

Article 119

Deputies shall vote using the electronic system by pressing appropriate keys on devices located in front of each Deputy's seat, and having previously inserted identification cards, issued to all Deputies, into slots on the devices.
The period of time for voting using the electronic system shall be 15 seconds.
Upon expiry of this period, the Chairperson of the National Assembly shall close the vote and announce its result.
A decision shall be considered adopted if more than half of the Deputies identified, i.e. the majority envisaged by the Constitution, should vote for it.
The outcome of each vote shall be shown on screens in the National Assembly chamber.
A computer printout of the results of each vote shall be delivered to Deputies' Groups at their request, as well as to the Information Service of the National Assembly for presentation to the media.

Article 120

A deputy shall be obliged to use only his/her own identification card, as well as to identify himself/herself when entering the Assembly chamber by inserting his/her card into his/her electronic voting unit, as well as to log off when leaving the Assembly chamber.
If a Deputy should use the identification card of another Deputy or otherwise abuse the electronic voting system, the Chairperson of the National Assembly shall propose that he/she should be ordered to leave the sitting, while any votes taken at the time the abuse took place shall be annulled, and shall immediately be followed by repeated identification voting.

Article 121

Deputies shall be obliged to carry their identification cards on their person when leaving the National Assembly chamber.
If a Deputy should leave the National Assembly chamber and leave his/her identification card in or near the voting unit, the National Assembly Support Service shall immediately hand over the card to the Secretary of the National Assembly; the card shall be returned to the Deputy upon his/her return to the Assembly chamber.

Article 122

A Deputy shall be obliged to report the loss of his/her identification card to the Secretary of the National Assembly.
If a Deputy should fail to bring his/her identification card to a National Assembly sitting, or should lose it during the course of a National Assembly sitting, the National Assembly Support Service shall issue him/her with a temporary identification card and shall inform the National Assembly thereof.
The Deputy shall return the temporary card to the Secretary of the National Secretary immediately after the end of the sitting for which the temporary card was issued.

Article 123

If a vote should be taken by show of hands, the Deputies shall first declare who is in favour of the motion, then who is opposed to the motion, and, finally, who abstains from the vote.
A Deputies' Group may designate one of its members to monitor the counting of the votes.
After the vote is over, the Chairperson of the National Assembly shall close the vote and declare its result.
A decision shall be considered adopted if more than a half of the Deputies present, that is, the majority foreseen by the Constitution, vote for it.

Article 124

If the National Assembly should decide to take a vote by roll call, the Secretary of the National Assembly shall roll-call the Deputies in the alphabetical order of their last names. Every roll-called Deputy shall say either 'Yes', 'No' or 'Abstained'. The Chairperson of the National Assembly shall repeat the first and last name of the Deputy who has voted and his/her statement, or establish that he/she is absent or that he/she does not wish to vote.
The Secretary of the National Assembly shall record the statement of each Deputy or the fact of his/her absence alongside his/her name on the list.
A decision shall be considered adopted if more than half of the Deputies who voted, that is, the majority foreseen by the Constitution, vote in favour.
If the National Assembly should decide to vote by roll call in an election where two or more candidates have been nominated, the Deputies taking part in the vote shall state the full name of the candidate for whom they are voting.

3. Voting by Secret Ballot

Article 125

The National Assembly shall adopt decisions by secret ballot when doing so is foreseen by law, the present Rules of Procedure, or by a special decision of the National Assembly.
Deputies shall vote by secret ballot by using either the electronic voting system or ballot papers, as decided on by the National Assembly.
If the vote by secret ballot should be taken using ballot papers, two hundred and fifty (250) ballot papers shall be printed.
The ballot papers shall all be of the same size, shape, and colour, and shall be stamped with the seal of the National Assembly.
For each repeated vote, ballot papers shall be printed in a different colour.

Article 126

A special Commission shall be set up to oversee the printing and stamping of the ballot papers. It shall include a representative from each Deputies' Group or, pending the establishment of Deputies' Groups, shall comprise the youngest Deputy from each of the four electoral lists that polled the largest number of seats. The chairperson of the Commission shall be the oldest Deputy from among its members.
The Commission shall keep minutes, which shall be signed by all its members.
The Commission shall conclude its work by transferring the ballot papers and the signed minutes to the person in charge of administering the vote.
Each ballot paper shall contain the motion to be decided upon, and the words 'For' and 'Against'. The word 'For' shall be on the left hand side and the word 'Against' on the right hand side of the lower part of the ballot paper. The Deputies shall vote by circling either the word 'For' or the word 'Against'.

Article 127

During an election or nomination, candidates shall be listed on ballot papers in the sequence established on the list of candidates. An ordinal number shall precede the name of each candidate.
Deputies shall vote by circling the ordinal number in front of the name of the candidate for whom they are voting.
Deputies may not vote for more candidates than are to be elected from among the candidates whose names are indicated on the ballot paper.

Article 128

Voting by secret ballot shall be administered by the Chairperson of the National Assembly, who shall in doing so be assisted by Vice-Chairpersons of the National Assembly and by the Secretary ('the Voting Commission').

Article 129

Ballot papers shall be handed to Deputies in the following manner: a Deputy shall approach the Chairperson's bench after he/she has been roll-called. The Chairperson of the National Assembly shall hand to the Deputy a ballot paper, while the Secretary of the National Assembly shall record, next to the full name of the Deputy on the list, that the ballot paper has been handed to him/her. The Chairperson of the National Assembly shall, prior to the vote, determine its duration.
After the Deputy has marked his/her ballot paper, he/she shall approach the ballot box and insert the ballot paper into it. The Secretary of the National Assembly shall record that the Deputy has voted by placing a tick mark next to the full name of the Deputy on the list.
The ballot box must be empty and made of transparent material.
After the expiry of the time allotted for the vote, the Chairperson of the National Assembly shall close the vote.

Article 130

When the voting has finished, the Voting Commission shall establish the results of the vote in the same chamber where the voting took place.
Before the ballot box is opened, the undelivered ballot papers shall be counted and placed in a separate envelope, which shall then be sealed.

Article 131

In establishing results of the vote, data on the number of following shall be recorded:
- Delivered ballot papers;
- Used ballot papers;
- Unused ballot papers;
- Invalid ballot papers;
- Valid ballot papers;
- Votes 'For' and votes 'Against', or, if during the vote or nomination the Deputies should vote on several candidates running for the same office, the number of votes polled by individual candidates.
Established results of the vote shall also include the statement to the effect that a motion has either been carried or defeated by the prescribed majority or, when during the election or nomination the voters vote for two or more candidates running for the same office, which candidate has been elected or appointed.

Article 132

Any unmarked ballot paper, or any ballot paper that does not clearly show which motion the deputy has voted for, shall be considered invalid, unless otherwise provided for by law.
When a vote is taken on an election or appointment, any ballot paper on which a greater number of candidates have been marked than the number to be elected or appointed shall be considered invalid.

Article 133

Minutes shall be kept on the results of a vote, and shall be signed by all members of the Voting Commission.
The Chairperson of the National Assembly shall announce the result of the vote at the National Assembly sitting.