Changes to the Electoral Code related to the method of voting should not be made at the last minute, as this could undermine the trust of citizens and complicate the work of the election administration. This was stated by the former chairman of the Central Election Commission and lawyer Alexander Andreev on the air of NOVA.
Currently, the parliament is discussing changes that provide for the preservation of the mixed vote - with paper ballots and machine voting, but with the addition of scanning devices to the paper ballots. Earlier, the Legal Committee rejected the PP–DB's proposal for fully machine-based voting with a control count of the receipts from the machines.
Andreev pointed out that he had participated in the meetings of the Legal Committee over the past two days, where he expressed his position that such changes contradict the standards set by the Venice Commission. According to it, electoral legislation should not be changed immediately before elections.
According to him, during the discussions it became clear that some of the deputies, including representatives of the CEC, had not seen the scanning devices in practice and were not familiar with their method of operation or the effect of their introduction. This casts doubt on the readiness for their implementation in the next elections.
"I am not sure that so many scanning devices can be delivered on time, nor whether they will be purchased or rented", Andreev noted. He added that the summary report on the changes provides for a backup option - if the devices are not provided, voting will be held according to the current rules with paper and machines.
According to the former CEC chairman, radical changes at the last minute would lead to even greater distrust among voters and serious difficulties for the election administration. He stressed that training of members of the section election commissions is of key importance, as well as effective control over their work during election day.