NGO notes high level of proxy votesand campaigning at polling stations

Voters make their way to the polling stations on a chilly Thursday in Enniskillen. Picture: Ronan McGrade/Pacemaker Press

Sustainable Development Assistance International (SDAI) sent a limited mission to observe the parliamentary election on December 12 last year.

In a newly-published election report the NGO referred to a number of issues around the identification of ballot boxes, proxy voting, and campaigning in and around polling stations.

“A high level of proxy voting was observed in NI. This raises the question of whether there are adequate controls over voter secrecy and impersonation.

“In Foyle, observers reported that up to 50 proxy voters were cast in some polling stations,” reported SDAI.

The NGO remarked on the level of campaigning at local polling stations in both Foyle and East Derry.

“In East Londonderry, Foyle, and North Down, observers reported campaigning at polling station entrances. Some campaigners were seen giving out sample marked ballot papers to voters,” the report observed, in reference to what is standard practice in elections in Derry and across the north.

The mission went on to make some comments about the chain of custody of ballots and ballot boxes in both Foyle and East Derry.

The report stated: “Observers in Foyle and East Londonderry noted that some ballot boxes had no identification marks other than the card label hanging from its front and two security tags to hold the lid closed.

“A third tag was added at the end of the day when the boxes were sealed, after which an envelope with identification documents was stuck to the lid.”

It continued: “In Foyle and East Londonderry, observers saw a ballot box with missing identification documents.

“Managers recorded this, and the votes were counted twice at different tables.”

The NGO, which is based in Eastern Canada and reported on the referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment of the Irish Constitution in 2018, observed polling at eight polling stations in both Derry and East Derry.

It observed polling in North Down and East Belfast, where, “in several polling stations, there was Protestant flute band music playing in the background. In two PSs in East Belfast, loyalist bandsmen were playing immediately outside.

“The staff of one PS suggested that this did not constitute political interference because the area was already predominately loyalist.”