Law on the Election of Local Government Councils § Section 38

(1) Immediately after the closing of the
polling station, the polling station commission shall, in
accordance with the procedures specified by the Central Election
Commission, seal the ballot boxes, close the electoral rolls and
prepare the premises for the counting of votes. Election
materials not used in voting shall be packed or placed in a
manner that does not hinder the counting of votes.
(2) The polling station commission shall prepare a vote
counting report regarding the counting of votes in two
copies.
(3) Prior to the opening of ballot boxes, the polling station
commission shall enter in the vote counting report information on
the received, used, and spare ballot envelopes, the number of
voters at the polling station and at the location of voters.
Sealed ballot envelopes which have not been used in voting shall
be cancelled.
(4) The ballot boxes shall be opened after entering the
information referred to in Paragraph two of this Section in the
vote counting report and the packaging of materials and ballot
envelopes not used in the counting of votes. The ballot boxes
shall be opened one by one and the ballot envelopes shall be
counted.
(5) Ballot envelopes taken out of each ballot box, without
opening them, shall be sorted into valid and invalid ballot
envelopes.
(6) Torn ballot envelopes and such ballot envelopes which are
not stamped with the seal of the relevant election commission
shall be deemed to be invalid, except for the postal ballot
envelopes sent in accordance with the procedures laid down in
Section 33.² of this Law.
(7) Invalid ballot envelopes shall be counted and packaged
unopened, specifying that the pack contains invalid ballot
envelopes and the number thereof. The total number of invalid
ballot envelopes shall be entered in the vote counting
report.
(8) The number of valid ballot envelopes taken out of each
ballot box shall be equal to or less than the relevant number of
voters.
(9) If a ballot box contains ballot papers which are not
inserted in ballot envelopes, they shall be cancelled and
packaged in accordance with the procedures specified by the
Central Election Commission.
[11 November 2004; 11 June 2020; 20 October 2022]