What are the… excuses being used
Last Sunday morning, shortly after the polls opened self-governing elections, the phone of the Commissioner at the Court of First Instance of Thessaloniki caught fire. On the other end of the phone line were judicial representatives of election departments calling to report problems at the start of the election process, most notably the absence of election committee members – once again in an election contest.
The case of a polling station on Iktinou Street, in its “heart”, was typical Thessaloniki, where in six departments only one member of the election committee had attended, according to what a judicial representative conveyed in her communication with the Registrar of Elections. “Continues as normal with your present members and secretaries” was the response of the Treasurer, who reminded the judicial representatives that if someone does not appear in the progress of the election process, they have the right to call the police to search for them, even to order the forcible bringing of them, a practice of course foreseen since non-appearance constitutes a criminal offence, but rarely implemented.
Despite the compensation of 40 euros decided for the first time in this year’s municipal and regional elections for each election committee member (and an additional 30 euros in the event of a second election round), absences of drawn, regular and substitute members, became the norm. Competent sources of the Court of First Instance of Thessaloniki, speaking to APE-MPE, calculate that in these elections as well, the largest percentage of members of electoral committees did not return to their positions to assume their duties.
Under these conditions, the judicial representatives were once again asked to… improvise: for example, they asked voters who came early to the polls to stay, putting their “backs” to the process, or they recruited “consistent” members from neighboring polling stations who had the … luxury of grant at least one member to cover the need, especially in the sections where no one showed up. And because “the guardians have knowledge”, and in this case the judicial representatives, some of them in addition to the secretaries who accompany them and pull by lifting a huge burden, they made sure – informally of course – to ask for help from a familiar person. Be it for the simple things of the process, such as collecting the ballots and delivering them to the incoming voters before they enter the screen. “The problem with election commissions is well known, which is why I always make sure to bring someone of my own, usually from the family, to help with the process,” a court official with extensive experience in elections tells APE – MPE.
But why are these “striking” absences observed every time among those who are called to take on the duties of an electoral committee, even though they vote in the same electoral division where they are appointed as members of an electoral committee? According to sources of the Court of First Instance of Thessaloniki who have been following the electoral process for years, there are many who consciously turn their backs on their duty, knowing that they will lose the whole day (perhaps even the night) – even more so in the local elections where there are two ballot boxes ( municipalities and regions) and the counting of the ballots and the crosses of the candidate councilors continues until the early hours of the next day. “The lack of financial incentive until now was another justification in their argument,” the same sources emphasize.
Some, of course, took care to inform in time about their non-attendance citing obstacles, such as health reasons or pregnancy, which they must prove. Still others, when they were searched, “apologized” that they had not been served with the relevant notices, as a result of which they did not know about their obligation to appear as members of an election committee. A lawyer confirms speaking to APE-MPE that his client was informed that he had been drawn when he went to vote. “He was not served with the notice, as a result of which he has been in the dark for the past few days. We turned to the Prosecutor’s Office for the receipt of the relevant document so that the man could collect the compensation after he had properly performed his duty”, he says characteristically.
An important parameter, however, which intensifies the problem seems to be the “problematic” lists with the names of those who enter the lottery, according to what competent sources of the Thessaloniki Court of First Instance describe. As they explain, the lists sent by the municipalities to the Court of First Instance in view of the draws are not updated. “Some citizens now live abroad, others have died. The system cannot “catch” these cases in order to exclude them” they point out and emphasize the need to update the lists and verify their data through the competent tax authorities, so that “it can be seen, for example, if their VAT numbers are active”.
In the meantime, the search for the absent election committee members on Iktinou Street revealed, according to information, that some of them now live abroad and were therefore unable to attend. They are not going to attend the second round of elections tomorrow, Sunday either. And the improvisations of the judicial representatives begin again…
