Elections and Referendums Move to a New Digital Model: Governorate of Justice Presents Draft Law “On Elections and Referendum”

The Governorate of Justice of the Republic of Vestina is submitting the draft Constitutional Law “On Elections and Referendum” for public consultation — an act that, for the first time, brings together into a single digital regulatory framework all matters concerning the election of the President, members of the Garacium, and nationwide referendums.

Voting in Vestina has long been conducted through the Delict Information System, but the rules surrounding it — who registers candidates, how votes are counted, and who may initiate a referendum — have remained fragmented. The draft law brings these rules together and introduces mechanisms that were previously missing.

What Will Change for Every Citizen

• The Central Electoral Committee will be reformed. The Committee will become more compact, consisting of a Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson, and Technical Secretary, appointed by the President from among citizens who are not employed in public service. Vote counting and the preparation of the results protocol will be fully automated and carried out by the Delict Information System rather than by individuals.
• A second round of presidential elections will be expressly established. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the first round, the Central Electoral Committee will, by its Resolution, call a runoff between the two leading candidates.
• Garacium elections will receive a more flexible candidate threshold. Instead of a rigid requirement concerning the number of candidates, the law will establish a minimum of 35 candidates. If fewer candidates are registered, the registration period will be extended, while incumbent members of the Garacium will remain in office until the elections are completed.
• Citizens will gain the right to initiate a referendum for the first time. By collecting 1,000 signatures through a digital initiative, an individual citizen or a group of citizens will be able to submit a referendum proposal for consideration by the President.
• Referendums will be protected against inadmissible questions. The law expressly defines matters that may not be submitted to a referendum, ranging from questions restricting human rights to personnel decisions and matters involving state secrets.
• Voting results will be published faster. The digital results protocol will be generated and published immediately after voting closes, while the official Resolution of the Central Electoral Committee will be published the following day.

Elections are not only about election day itself, but also about the entire infrastructure of trust surrounding it: who registers candidates, how votes are counted, and what happens if there are not enough candidates. This draft law rebuilds that infrastructure — transparently and down to the last detail.

The law also establishes the Personal Account as the sole means of identification for voting and signing initiatives. For the first time, the secrecy of the vote will receive not only a declarative but also a technical basis: the system will separate the fact of a citizen’s identification from the content of their vote.