The former head of the National Electoral Directorate, Alejandro Tullio, explained today that one must wait for the final count of last Sunday's elections, because 'the provisional count is not always complete,' although he estimated that on this occasion, with the Single Paper Ballot (BUP), the count 'was very good.' Tullio warned that in the final count, which is the only one legally valid, 'in provinces where the result is very close, the difference in the provisional count could change,' he explained in statements to the 'Esta Mañana' program, broadcast on Radio Rivadavia. 'In some provinces, about ten polling stations are left to be counted, in others, about 100, the percentage (of the provisional count) never reaches 100% of the tables for various reasons,' he pointed out and said that the difference usually lies in 'contested votes,' which are those in which polling station officials do not agree on their validity. He indicated that 'contested votes are left for the justice system to decide,' but he clarified that 'four or five votes per table in a province that has 2,000 tables become about 10,000 votes, which do not alter the proportions, but do alter the final number' of votes. 'That is why the final count always has a higher number of votes than the provisional count. In provinces where the result is very close, that difference could change,' he maintained, although he clarified that generally contested votes 'behave exactly the same as the rest and do not alter the proportions.' After emphasizing that 'the provisional count is not complete,' he gave the example that in a province where 10 tables were not counted 'it is not much, but it is 2,000 votes,' which must be verified before seeing 'if the result changes or not,' because 'where there is a difference of 2,000 votes it can have an impact.'
