Bari: the memorandum of understanding signed between the Municipality and the Court of Appeal for the coordination of activities related to the appointment of polling station presidents

Bari: the memorandum of understanding signed between the Municipality and the Court of Appeal for the coordination of activities related to the appointment of polling station presidents.

The memorandum of understanding for the coordination of activities related to the appointment of presidents of polling stations in the area was signed this morning at Palazzo di Città by the mayor Antonio Decaro and the deputy president of the Court of Appeal of Bari Francesca la Malfa. citizen.

The agreement was created to deal with the phenomenon which in recent years, on the occasion of the various electoral and referendum consultations, has seen multiple renunciations from carrying out the office of president of the polling station conferred by the Court of Appeal, and which has assumed imposing dimensions in following Covid-19, resulting in considerable difficulties in the organization and management of polling stations.

To remedy this situation, the municipal register of the mayor's delegates to replace the polling station presidents appointed by the Court of Appeal was established in October 2020, a circumstance which, despite having facilitated the operations related to the replacement, facilitating contact between the municipal offices and available citizens, however, it did not affect the very high number of refusals communicated in conjunction with the opening of polling stations for the preliminary voting operations.

Today's protocol, therefore, is aimed at starting a continuous collaboration between the Municipality of Bari and the Court of Appeal of Bari aimed at defining a more effective and efficient management of the activities connected to the appointment of the presidents of the polling stations of the city territory on the occasion of electoral and referendum consultations.

“The service will become increasingly transparent and efficient – ​​commented Francesca La Malfa -, so that we do not again have to find ourselves in the critical situation in which the appointed polling station presidents do not show up or give up their duties at the last moment. The Municipality of Bari, at the moment, is the only one in the Court of Appeal district with which we have signed an agreement of this kind, in compliance with the principles of transparency and efficiency that must inform institutional activities".

“I thank President La Malfa for signing this agreement – ​​continued Mayor Decaro -, which aims to facilitate and better organize the operations connected to the appointment of polling station presidents in the municipal territory in conjunction with the various electoral rounds: in the last Over the years we have found ourselves several times, just a few hours after the polls opened, having to chase after presidents who were nominated and became untraceable or managing last minute communications of resignation, with quite a few difficulties. For this reason, establishing constant collaboration with the Court of Appeal, computerizing the respective registers and exchanging information in real time, will, I am sure, improve the service provided to the city and the correct functioning of democracy. In my role as president of the ANCI I will promote this experience, the first of its kind in Italy, so that it can be replicated in other Italian cities".

In execution of the agreement, in particular, the City of Bari undertakes to:

· computerize the registration procedure in the municipal register of delegates from the mayor to replace the polling station presidents appointed by the Court of Appeal;

· automate the verification of possession of the requirements for registration and permanence in the aforementioned Register and, consequently, automate the procedures for updating the Register itself;

· transmit to the Court of Appeal the names of those registered in the Register of substitutes;

· periodically update the Register of substitutes to verify the availability of those registered to fill the role, in order to reduce the number of resignations;

· assist the Court of Appeal in the notification activities of appointment decrees.

The Court of Appeal of Bari instead undertakes to:

· computerize the registration and updating procedures in the Register of people suitable for the office of polling station president;

· make available the data relating to citizens registered in the aforementioned Register, as well as those relating to citizens removed from it, in order to allow the City of Bari to proceed with the automated verification of the declarations made by those who register in the municipal Register;

· send the lists of polling chairmen appointed to the mayor 30 days before the date set for the vote.

Furthermore, both parties undertake to convene a specific interinstitutional working group at least 60 days before each electoral deadline.

The duration of the protocol starts from the date of signing and will remain effective until expressly waived by one of the parties.