Kosice Region: Impact of Faulty Ballot Papers in Hran Remains Unclear

Bratislava/Hran, 24 October (TASR) - Several voters in the village of Hran in Trebisov district (Kosice region) voted using faulty ballot papers for electing representatives to the municipal council, said State Electoral Commission head Eduard Burda on Saturday, adding that the electoral commission has already fixed the problem. "It will depend on the actual election results as to whether the error will have the potential to invalidate this election in some way or not. However, that is a decision for the Supreme Administrative Court of the Slovak Republic, not the State Electoral Commission," said Burda, adding that everything could turn out all right however, and that the faulty ballot papers might not affect the result of the election in Hran. After discovering the faulty ballot papers, the electoral commission responded appropriately by suspending voting for 50 minutes and fixing the error, said Burda, adding that "new ballot papers were produced". According to him, voting has already resumed in Hran, as the commission agreed that the best option was to proceed as normal. Burda believes that interfering in any other manner could call other elections in the village into question, such as the mayoral one. "That election is certainly in no way jeopardised by this," he stated. Voting in the village of Hran was suspended from 9:00 a.m. to 9:50 a.m. and will be extended in the electoral ward until 8:50 p.m. The election moratorium for Kosice region has also been extended until that time. jrg/df