The Polling Station forms part of the Electoral Administration, together with the Electoral Boards.
It is made up of three persons, a Presiding Officer and two other officers, who are under seventy years of age and able to read and write.
They will be chosen by drawing from among the polling station’s electoral roll.
The Presiding Officer must hold a Baccalaureate or second-degree Vocational Training qualification or, alternatively, a School Leaving Certificate or equivalent.
The Presiding Officers and other officers at the polling stations, as well as the alternates who are eventually designated as officers, will have the following rights:
The positions of Presiding Officer and officer at the polling stations are mandatory. They cannot be held by anyone who stands as a candidate.
Presiding Officers, officers and alternates who fail to perform their duties will be liable to imprisonment for a period ranging from three months to one year or a fine of six to twenty-four months.
The interested parties must be informed of the designations of the Presiding Officers and officers of the polling stations between 29 April and 6 May (3 days after the drawing). An Instruction Manual for polling station personnel, supervised by the Central Electoral Board and approved by virtue of an Agreement of the Council of Ministers, will be provided with the notification.
The designated persons will have a period of seven days to submit a justified and documented cause that prevents them from accepting the post to the Area Electoral Board. The Board will make a decision without the right to any further appeal within five days and, as appropriate, inform the first alternate of the replacement.
Should any of the designated persons subsequently be unable to perform their duties, they must inform the Area Electoral Board at least 72 hours before the day of the elections and provide the relevant justifications.
If the impediment occurs after the above deadline, the Board must be informed immediately and, in any event, before the time of the constitution of the polling station. In such cases, the Board will announce the replacement to the corresponding alternate, if there is time to do so, and proceed to appoint another alternate if necessary.
The Presiding Officer, officers and alternates of each polling station will meet at eight o’clock on 28 May at the corresponding location.
If the Presiding Officer is absent, the first alternate will take his/her place. If he/she is also absent, the second alternate will replace him/her, and if he/she is also absent, the first or second officer, in that order, will assume the position of Presiding Officer. The officers who do not attend or assume the position of Presiding Officer will be replaced by their alternates.
The polling station cannot be constituted without the presence of a Presiding Officer and two officers. In the event that this requirement cannot be met, the officers of the polling station who are present and any alternates who have attended or, in their absence, the governmental authority will draw up and sign a declaration of the events that have taken place and send it by registered post to the Area Electoral Board, to which they will also communicate these circumstances telegraphically or by phone.
In such case, the Board will be free to appoint the persons who have to constitute the polling station and may even order some of the voters who are present on the premises to serve as officers. In any event, the Board will inform the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the events in order to clarify the potential criminal liability of the persons designated as officers and their alternates who do not appear.
If, despite the provisions of the previous paragraph, the polling station cannot be constituted one hour after the legally established time for the start of the voting, the persons present or the governmental authority will report this circumstance to the Area Electoral Board, which will call a further vote at the polling station within the following two days. A copy of the call will be immediately posted on the door of the polling place and the Board will proceed ex officio to appoint the new officers.