6.
As soon as a veiled woman enters the center, she is called upon and heads toward a place dedicated
for identity matching process; this place is not well prepared for such purpose in terms of its
location in the center and the absence of a full-time female identity matcher to perform this process.
In addition, once this process is carried out, the woman heads toward the verification officers, who
sometimes, especially during peak periods, do not have a formal proof that the woman’s identity
has been actually verified. Therefore, the NIHR calls for developing a clearer, more precise and
seamless mechanism that secures the smooth entry of veiled women, ensures that their faces match
their identity documents, and takes into account their privacy in this regard.
7.
The NIHR’s monitoring team found that all the ballot papers were the official papers dedicated to
this purpose. The ballot papers for the election of members of the House of Representatives had
a red background, while those for the election of members of the municipal councils had a green
background.
8.
The NIHR’s monitoring team also noted that the voting process begins with the voter presenting
his/her passport or election card issued by the Nationality, Passport, and Residence Affairs
Directorate at the Ministry of Interior and the ID card. The verification officer at the polling and
counting center then checks the voter’s right to vote, gives the voter the ballot paper, and stamps
the passport or the election card indicating his/her participation in the voting process. A number
of the NIHR’s monitoring team found that the stamp on the passport or the election card was being
verified for each voter who had completed the ballot, before leaving the electoral center. However,
in other centers, this regulatory action was not being followed.
9.
In the same context, it was noticed that there were electronic devices at the exit gates of some
of the polling stations that detect ballot papers, which the voters might take out from the center,
since all the ballot papers contain a sensitive electronic tape that gives a signal once a paper passes
through the detector. However, it was not clear to the monitoring team whether the said devices
were effective or not.
10. The NIHR also noted that all the ballot papers were inserted in the ballot boxes, under the watch of
the polling and counting committee.
11. The NIHR’s monitoring team noted that a number of public polling and counting centers ran out of
the ballot papers allocated to one of the constituencies. The NIHR stresses the need for the chairs of
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