New regulations on valid and invalid ballots in elections within the Communist Party of Vietnam

New regulations on valid and invalid ballots in elections within the Communist Party of Vietnam

Valid and invalid ballots are specifically stipulated in Clause 2, Article 15 of the Election Regulations within the Communist Party of Vietnam attached to Decision 190-QD/TW of 2024 as follows:

- A valid ballot is issued by the ballot counting committee, containing either sufficient or fewer candidates than the required number; a ballot with a list containing only one candidate, where the voter marks an X in either the agree or disagree box; a ballot with multiple candidates without any surplus, where the voter marks an X in both boxes (agree and disagree) or does not mark an X in both boxes (agree and disagree) corresponding to the name of one or several candidates in the election list.

- An invalid ballot is not issued by the ballot counting committee; a ballot that exceeds the stipulated quantity; a ballot that elects no one in a multi-candidate list; a ballot marking an X in both agree and disagree boxes or leaving both boxes empty in a list with only one candidate; a ballot marking an X in both agree and disagree boxes corresponding to the names of all individuals in a multi-candidate list; a ballot voting for someone outside the election list; a ballot with markings or using various types of ink; a ballot that is signed or has additional writings.

Additionally, in Article 35 of the Election Regulations within the Communist Party of Vietnam attached to Decision 190-QD/TW of 2024, the ballot storage period is as follows:

- The ballots are sealed by the ballot counting committee and handed over to the presidium for submission to the party committee for storage for a period of 6 months. During this time, without a decision from the authorized body, no one is permitted to open the seal without proper authorization.

After 6 months, if there are no complaints or accusations regarding the election results, the relevant party committee decides to destroy those ballots.

More details can be found in Decision 190-QD/TW, which comes into force in Vietnam from October 10, 2024.

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