1. In accordance with article 10, 11 and 14 of the Law on local elections, the members of the State polling committee, the municipal polling committees, are appointed at the proposal of the political parties in power who in the last elections for parliament representatives won the most votes, as well as at a proposal of the political parties in opposition who in the last elections won the most votes. For the sake of creation of conditions for carrying out fair and democratic elections the forming of politically independent bodies for carrying out of the elections is very important, so in that direction, it is necessary with the new law on elections to foresee the following:

The members of the State polling committee, the municipal polling committees, and the election boards should be appointed by the courts, not at the proposal of the political parties in power who in the last elections for parliament representatives won the most votes and the political parties in opposition who in the last elections won the most votes.

2. In accordance with Article 62 of the Law on local elections, while establishing the results of the voting at the polling stations, the unused ballots are put in a special envelope which is closes, sealed and the number of the polling station and the total number of the unused ballots are written on it. The legal provision like this leaves a possibility the unused ballots to be misused, and the new law on elections should foresee:

After establishing the number of unused ballots, on the unused ballots a mark of some kind should be put ( notching with scissors, marking by a marker etc.), which leaves no possibility to misuse the unused ballots.

3. In accordance with article 81 of the Law on local elections, every submitter of a list of candidates for Council members and a list of candidate for Mayor and every voter in the procedure for voting, summing up and establishing of the results of the voting has a right to file an objection to the polling committee.

This legal provision excludes the domestic and foreign observers from the procedure for protection of the right to vote, which is unjustified because the domestic observers are directly present during the voting, the summing up and the establishing of the results of the voting. That is why, with the new law on elections

  Besides the submitter of the list of candidates for Council members and a list of candidate for Mayor and every voter, a right for submitting objections and complaints to the competent bodies should be foreseen for the non-governmental organizations too which appear as domestic observers.

4. The new law on elections should provide for a ban against the members of the bodies for carrying out of the elections ( SPC , MPC and EB) who are convicted for criminal acts against the elections and the voting, to be elected in the future again as members of bodies for carrying out of the elections.

5. The new law on elections should provide for an obligation for SPC and MPC, to submit the election material to the Public Prosecutors' offices, if the election material can be used as evidence in the procedure for persecuting the perpetrators of criminal acts against the elections and the voting.

6. The criminal persecution of the perpetrators of criminal acts against the elections and the voting will be more efficient if the new law on elections makes a more precise border between election irregularities and criminal acts against the elections and the voting. The new law on elections must not contain a provision which is contained in the Law on local elections, article 97 paragraph 1 “With a fine of 40.000 to 50.000 denars a physical entity will be punished for an offence of voting instead of more persons or voting on behalf of another person, as well as for prevention of presence of police, if there was need for that.”) because with this provision the voting instead of more persons and the voting on behalf of somebody else are determined as an offence, and those activities (the voting instead of more persons and the voting on behalf of somebody else) in accordance with the Criminal Code represent a criminal act – misuse of the right to vote, due to what there is a danger that person could be punished both for an offence and for a criminal act concerning the same activity, which is contrary to the principle of a prohibition for a repeated trial (non bis in idem)1.

7. In the new law on elections, except for the election irregularities which are criminal acts against the elections and the voting (breaking of ballot boxes, family voting, voting instead of somebody else, violation of the secrecy of the voting etc.), all the other election irregularities should be provided for as offences, and for them mandate fines should be foreseen. For the sake of successful handling and preventing of these election irregularities, with the new election law the election board should be authorized (after it establishes that some person has committed such an irregularity) to inform the police which secures the facility where the polling station is located, and the police should be given an authorization after noting the situation and drawing up the minutes, to charge the perpetrator with a fine, and if the perpetrator does not pay the fine, then the police should file criminal charges.

1“No one can be tried again for an act for which he/she has already been tried and for which a legally binding court verdict has been reached.” Article 14 paragraph 2 of the Constitution of RM.

” No one can be tried again or punished for an act for which he/she has already been tried and for which a legally binding court verdict has been reached .”Article 5 of the Law on criminal proceedings of RM