and announcing the results, it was found that all the public and provincial election centers were closed at 8:00 pm, in the presence of candidates or their agents, civil society organizations, and the NIHR’s team. Some of the heads of the polling and counting centers requested the representatives of the NIHR to be present to establish the closing of these boxes with the provided locks. The name of the governorate, type of elections, as well as a number of the box was written on the boxes. 10. In addition, the process of sorting and counting by the organizers of the election center - which was carried out before the observers of the NIHR - varied from one center to another. However, they had, in general, almost the same system, starting with opening the parliamentary or municipal ballot boxes by the head of the committee, emptying them, and making sure they are empty of any ballot papers. Then the polling center organizers sort out the correct and invalid ballots, followed by sorting and counting them more than once under the watch and direct supervision of the chairman of the center. Meanwhile, there is another group of organizers counting the remaining unused ballot papers. 11. The NIHR believes that, despite the quality prior training of the organizers of the electoral centers in the process of counting and sorting, it observed that the organizers of the counting process are the same organizers of the electoral center since 8:00 am until its closure. The NIHR noted that they appeared tired and exhausted during the counting process, which lasted in some public centers during the first round until the early hours of the following morning. 12. Based on the above, the NIHR proposes that a team other than that involved in the organization of the ballot carries out the counting and sorting process. Such proposed team begins its work at the electoral center starting at 6:00 pm, and continues until the polling is closed and the counting process commences until the announcement of the final results. This has a positive impact on the performance of the said team and reduces the likelihood of any potential errors that may arise during this process, as well as accelerates the announcement of the results. 13. In a related context, the NIHR’s team noted the absence of surveillance cameras and display screens (monitors) in polling and counting stations, which make it possible to observe the sorting and counting of ballot papers. However, this process took place under the watch of those present and in the area allocated for ballot. However, the presence of media during this stage was very limited in some polling centers, and absent in other centers. 67