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During a press conference on Wednesday, the CEC provided key information to voters, presented innovations in the upcoming elections, and made recommendations on how to prepare to vote in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Election Commission Chief Chair Laura Matjošaitytė stated that 70 members of the Seimas will be elected from a multi-member constituency and 71 from a single-member constituency.
PHOTO GALLERY. The CEC on the 2020 Seimas Elections
A breakthrough is visible abroad
The CEC president said the advance was huge for registered voters abroad who want to vote. Registration is almost complete.
“According to preliminary data, more than 40 thousand are registered or willing to vote abroad. Compared to 2016, the progress is enormous. In 2016, a little more than 19 thousand people were registered,” said the president of the commission .
Voting abroad is organized by 51 Lithuanian diplomatic missions and consular offices. About half of the diplomatic missions have already registered. The vast majority of foreign voters, more than 90 percent, prefer to vote by mail. Voting by mail has only been confirmed in four diplomatic missions so far.
CEC: Early voting will be different
The CEC president announced that early voting would be a little different than four years ago: we would have more voting days. Voters will be able to vote for four days instead of two as before.
“There will be four days this year, from Monday to Thursday, the voter will be able to vote early. Early voting will take place from 7:00 pm in the morning until 8:00 pm at night,” said L. Matjošaitytė.
The Vilnius City Municipality will have up to four early voting places. The Kaunas municipality has two other locals instead of voting in the local municipalities.
“In a third of the municipalities, the polling places change. These are 15 municipalities with changing voting locations and they will be outside the municipal administration facilities ”, said the president of the commission.
On Election Day, each voter will receive two ballots: single-member and multi-member.
The voter must have 3 things
The CCA cautions that there are three important things a voter must have before going to the polls: a face mask, an identity document and a writing instrument.
“We will invite all incoming voters to take care of personal protective equipment, to wear a medical mask or respirator.” Each voter must prepare an identity document and have a writing instrument before coming to vote ”, said the president of the commission.
If the voter does not have a mask or writing instrument, the CCA promises that it will be given to them when it comes to voting, so it will not be necessary to return home. The electoral commissions will have reusable writing instruments that will be constantly disinfected.
According to L. Matjošaitytė, the Ministry of Health, through the state reserve, transferred personal protection measures to the district electoral commissions, which will protect the members and voters of the commissions. She promises that on Election Day, the commissioners who work at the polling stations will certainly have enough guarantees.
It will be sufficient for the members of the electoral commissions to wear medical masks or respirators that cover the nose and mouth, disposable gloves, and disinfect their hands. According to the CCA, various trainings were organized for members of the electoral commission.
The epidemiologist talks about how the isolated and sick COVID-19 will vote
Loreta Ašoklienė, the country’s chief epidemiologist and head of the Health Promotion Division of the Ministry of Health (SAM), believes that the coronavirus should not spread in the country if all protective measures are taken.
“Meetings are always a place of risk, for which all the recommendations have been drawn up and great efforts are being made to prevent this from happening. If the commission members and voters follow the recommendations, then there should be no spread of the virus, at least in relation to the elections, ”said L. Ašoklienė.
The epidemiologist urged voters not to marry children while voting. Older people were encouraged to go to the polls at a time when there are fewer voters. He also highlighted three important elements for the voter.
Invited to wear personal protective equipment: these are face masks.
“During the elections, we invite you to stay away, not rush, to reduce the risk of spread. Also disinfect your hands,” said L. Ašoklienė.
According to her, much greater challenges await commissioners who will have to visit voters in their homes and hospitals. People in self-isolation at home will also be able to vote in Seimas elections.
“It is important here, isolated people for contact and isolated people who are sick. Commissioners will have to wear appropriate personal protective equipment, depending on the voter they go to. It is important to wear protective equipment correctly {…} it is not a daily job to wear a higher level protective equipment properly, therefore training was carried out, ”said L. Ašoklienė.
According to her, the members of the electoral commission will visit patients in hospitals with due guarantees. When visiting COVID-19 patients, they will use a higher level of personal protection than other patients.
Not all rooms can be adapted for the disabled
At the meeting, the CEC also discussed tailoring constituencies for voters with visual, hearing and mobility disabilities. According to the president of the CEC, not all polling stations can be adapted for people with disabilities. However, about 90 percent of polling stations will accommodate these people.
According to L. Matjošaitytė, this year so-called Braille sleeves have also been produced, in which the ballots will be placed. This will allow the visually impaired to vote.
The government allocated an additional 4 million LTL to the CCA. euros
A couple of weeks ago, the government allocated an additional 3.9 million LTL to organize the Seimas elections. euros. These funds will be provided with funds borrowed on behalf of the state.
These funds from the CEC are committed to be distributed to cover the salary expenses of the members of the electoral commissions and to organize the elections of the Seimas in diplomatic missions and consular offices, indicates the Government Chancellery.
The Central Election Commission notes that the need to ensure voter safety due to the coronavirus pandemic will entail additional costs: extended voting hours, commission work hours, and more human resources will be required by expanding the number of voting centers.
In total, the Cabinet of Ministers at Wednesday’s meeting will consider proposals totaling 200 million. including the fight against the consequences of the coronavirus crisis.
The largest: 191.2 million. It is planned to allocate 1 billion euros to the Ministry of Social Security and Labor in order to preserve employment and personal income.
The Seimas elections will be held on October 11.
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