Uncollected voting documents down to 24,719

Electoral Commission on forthcoming MEP elections

The number of uncollected voting documents has gone down to 24,719, Chief Electoral Commissioner Joseph Church said today.

Voting documents can be collected from the Evans Building in Valletta. Eligible voters who have not yet received or collected their document have until Thursday at midnight to do so.

Those who have torn or lost their votes have until today to collect a new one.

The number of eligible voters is of 336,494 plus 7,880 EU citizens who reside in Malta, bringing the total to 344,374 voters.

In 2009, 15,862 voting documents for the EP elections remained uncollected - over 5,000 more than the 10,100 voting documents not collected in the first EP elections held in Malta in 2004.

Voting for the European Parliament elections and administrative councils has already taken place in 23 elderly homes on Saturday.

“It was a satisfying experience,” Church, who is heading his first election, told members of the media gathered at the Naxxar counting hall for a press briefing.

The total number of eligible voters who voted on Saturday stood at 1,494, with 1,448 of them going out to vote. These included voters who on Saturday will either be abroad or will be in hospital.

The 13 districts making up Malta and Gozo will be considered as one district, therefore the first official first count is expected to be out between 1am and 2am on the night between Sunday and Monday.

However, it is expected that by 2pm – latest 3pm – the political parties will know which party has won the majority.

The opening of boxes and reconciliation of ballots will start on Saturday evening at 10pm, with the first coach carrying the ballot boxes from the polling stations expected at 11pm.

Sorting of the ballot sheets with the votes placed in the candidates’ respective pigeon holes according to the first preference vote will start at noon.

An estimate forecast places the quota at around 35,000.

Between calculator agents, supervisors and assistants, the counting staff totals 782 persons.

127 coaches and 121 mini vans will be used to transport ballot boxes and officials, assistant electoral commissioners, reserves and so forth.

Assistant electoral commissioners total 3,362 while 84 persons will act as polling place officers.