Accusations of misconduct by polling station staff led the National Elections Commission (CNE) to impose new restrictions. In particular there have been accusations of taking ballot papers in and out of polling stations. A new regulation bars polling station staff members (membros de mesas de voto, MMVs) from having with them “bags, backpacks, briefcases, wallets or any other means of transport or guarding material that may be suspicious or contribute to disagreement within the polling station.”
MMVs have also been accused of being in contact with parties, especially during the count. They are now prohibited from having mobile phones in the polling station. The exception is for the polling station presiding officer (president) or their deputy, who may use a mobile phone solely for the purpose of communicating with the district Electoral Administration Secretariat, and only in front of the other polling station staff members.
The new stricter rule does not apply to election observers, journalists and voters. Their use of telephones and cameras is only restricted near or in the voting booths.
The CNE issued the new restrictions in Instruction No. 6 / CNE / 2019 of 11 September.
The instruction also repeats the rules on who can vote at the polling station different from the one where they were registered: MMVs and other electoral staff, party agents (delegados), journalists, observers and police.
The instruction is on: https://www.cipeleicoes.org/wpcontent/ uploads/2019/09/Instrucao-6-Votoespecial. pdf
