If official election results processed by an electronic tabulation system, at which level results are entered into an electronic tabulation system?

According to the system of counting and tabulation set out by the, Ordinance No. 92-004 of 18 February 1992 Organic Law on the Constitutional Council the CENI has the mandate to organize the counting of votes. The counting is conducted inside the polling station chaired by a President who is supported by two deputy presidents. The deputy presidents are all appointed by the CENI after deliberation and upon nominations by the CENI’s regional and local chapters. As soon as a polling station is closed, its members start the counting process. The counting must proceed uninterrupted until its completion. The members of the polling station determine the number of cast ballots after subtracting the number of nullified ballots from the total number of ballots found in the ballot box. Once the counting process is over, the members of the polling station determine the final figures by adding up numbers logged on the ballot reporting sheets. Each candidate or list of candidates calculates the votes they have received.

The minutes of the counting operations must be written immediately at the polling station at the end of the process. The minutes must include: (1) the number of registered voters, (2) the number of actual voters, (3) the number of nullified votes, (4) the number of ballots cast, (5) the number of blank votes and (6) the number of votes obtained by each candidate or list of candidates. The minutes should also include all claims made by a list of candidates and all the decisions made during the course of the voting process. The president of the polling station must invite the members of the polling station to countersign the minutes. If one or more members refuse to sign the minutes, it is mentioned in the minutes with the reasons (if known). The ballots nullified by the polling station must be signed by all members of the polling station and attached to the minutes. The minutes issued by the polling station must be produced in four copies in municipal elections. These copies are sent to the following entities: (1) the Supreme Court, (2) the CENI, (3) the administrative authority who has jurisdiction over the geographic area where the voting took place and (4) the General Office of Support of the Electoral Process.

For presidential elections, copies of the minutes are issued to: (1) the Constitutional Court, (2) the CENI, (3) the Ministry of Interior, (4) the Wilaya, and (5) the Moughataa. Copies of the minutes are issued by the polling station to the representatives of candidates or lists of candidates. One copy of the minutes is posted at the polling station where it has been issued.

For the vote of the Mauritanians living abroad, five copies of the minutes are issued and distributed as follows: (1) to the Constitutional Court, (2) the CENI, (3) the Ministry of Interior, (4) the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and (5) the relevant embassy or consular office. The Heads of Diplomatic Missions and the Consuls, immediately after receiving the results of the vote, transmit them to the above-mentioned authorities to whom the minutes are sent. The electoral minutes and the attached documents issued by polling stations are sent by diplomatic courier.

Centralization of the results: the results of legislative and municipal elections are centralized by the relevant chapter of the CENI. Once the results are tallied and centralized, minutes are issued. In case of a municipal election, they are sent to the Supreme Court, the CENI, and the Ministry of Interior; and for legislative and presidential elections, they are sent to the Constitutional Court, the CENI, and the Ministry of Interior.

Proclamation of the results: The CENI proclaims municipal and legislative elections. The Constitutional Court proclaims the final results of the presidential elections. The CENI proclaims the provisional results of the presidential elections.

Electoral disputes: in electoral disputes, two types of recourse are possible: an administrative recourse adjudicated by the CENI, and a legal recourse adjudicated by the Constitutional Court or the Supreme Court. The Constitutional Court has jurisdiction over any recourse made pertaining to a presidential or legislative election, while the Supreme Court has jurisdiction over recourse made in municipal elections. In legislative elections, any candidate or list of candidates may request the nullification of electoral operations in their constituency after the transmission of the results to the Constitutional Court by the CENI. For presidential elections, recourse may be made at the CENI about the decisions it has taken during the electoral process. Disputes are noted in the minutes of the polling stations or sent through a separate channel. However, recourse to the CENI does not prevent litigants from taking future recourse to the Constitutional Court, which has jurisdiction over all electoral disputes.

Any candidate may request the nullification of electoral operations. Upon transmission of the results to the Constitutional Court by the CENI, the Court has fifteen days after the recourse to adjudicate the dispute. For municipal elections, any dispute may be presented to the CENI about the decisions taken during the electoral process. This may be recorded in the minutes of the polling stations or sent through a separate channel. The representative of each list of candidates may request the nullification of electoral operations. Upon transmission of the results to the Supreme Court by the CENI, the Court has fifteen days after the recourse to adjudicate the dispute. This recourse, however, is not binding.