Electoral disputes
Any resident may contest the list, the conduct of the ballot, the count, the computation or the proclamation. It costs nothing, and the reasons come back in writing.
Article 248(1): disputes are decided by the Commission in the first instance, upon reasoned and published decision, and are appealable to the Constitutional Court.
Article 248(2): any resident may bring a dispute, and Article 231(4) governs costs.
Article 248(3): an irregularity annuls an election only where it was capable of affecting the result, and the Court states the finding on which the annulment rests.
Bringing a dispute
A dispute states what happened, where and when, and names the operation contested. A dispute may be delivered to any communal office, sent through the public information system, or spoken to a clerk who writes it down and reads it back. It may be brought in any language of record.
Residence is required and nothing further. No personal interest, no membership of a list and no loss need be shown.
What happens next
| Step | By when | What is published |
|---|---|---|
| Receipt and registration | Same day | The dispute, with the identity of the complainant protected on request |
| Answer of the operation contested | Seven days | The answer in full |
| Examination, and recount where the count is contested | Fourteen days | The recount sheets against the posted station sheets |
| Reasoned decision of the Commission | Twenty-one days | The decision, with dissents of members of the college |
| Appeal to the Constitutional Court | Seven days from the decision | The judgment, with reasons and dissenting opinions |
Disputes of the current register
| Ballot | Ground | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Referendum, 7 June 2026 | Discrepancy of 14 papers between the posted sheet and the sack, station 4-118, Sornorum | Recount held in public. Posted sheet confirmed. Dismissed as incapable of affecting the result. |
| Referendum, 7 June 2026 | Station opened forty minutes late at Lindoma quay | Upheld in part. Station hours extended by forty minutes at the next ballot by direction. No annulment. |
| Cortius by-election, 22 March 2026 | Refusal of a candidacy on a residence condition | Referred to the Constitutional Court. Refusal reversed. Ballot rerun with the candidacy registered. |
| Convention and Council, 21 September 2025 | Aggregation of station results contested by an association | Aggregation reproduced by hand in public over two days. Confirmed and dismissed. |
The threshold for annulment
Two questions are put. The first is whether an irregularity occurred. The second is whether it was capable of affecting the result, and only the second supports an annulment. The discrepancy of fourteen papers at station 4-118 was established and was incapable of affecting a margin running to thousands. The finding of irregularity stands published, and the ballot stands.
The late opening at Lindoma quay denied the vote to an unknown number of residents. The margin at that station likewise put the result beyond doubt, so the remedy was directed at the conduct of the next ballot.