handed the designated ballot paper and the voter’s passport or election card is stamped indicating participation in the voting process. Indicator: Does the voter place the ballot paper in the box in full view of the polling and counting committee as well as those present? 8. The NIHR’s monitoring team also noted that in most of the provincial and public polling and counting centers, all ballot papers were placed seamlessly in the designated boxes in a manner that was clearly visible by the polling and counting committee and those present. However, in other centers, the NIHR found that the distance between the ballot boxes and the observers prevented them from following up, tracking, and scrutinizing the conduct of the voting process accurately, an issue which the NIHR hopes to be resolved by providing designated areas for all observers within all polling and counting centers alike, close to the polling and counting committees, to enable them to follow up and monitor the course of the election process on polling day up until sorting, counting, and announcing the final results. Indicator: Were candidates or their agents present inside the polling hall? 9. During the parliamentary and municipal elections for the first and run-off rounds, the NIHR’s monitoring team noticed that the candidates or their agents were present inside the provincial polling centers in the area 71