A few editorial comments about this graphic may be in order.

The Counting Hall has in recent elections been located in a large facility in Ta' Qali, located in the northern part of Malta. When election ballots are counted there, the area is sealed off by military personnel, so that only persons authorized by the Electoral Commission are allowed to enter.

In the graphic below, the roughly rectangular shapes -- at the bottom and the left and right -- represent the counting desks. There are 13 of them, one for each of the election districts. It is here that the counting of ballots and the transfer of votes is determined, separately for each district.

These counting desks are separated from the adjoining areas (labeled "Candidates and Agents") by tall, translucent plastic sheets. This enables the people in the area reserved for candidates and agents to observe the counting process at close range, but it permits no physical contact with the persons who are examining and tallying the ballots. The arrangement also enables these observers to shout questions and objections as they follow the counting process.

In the "Candidates and Agents" area the most active persons will be the agents of the political parties who follow the counts, jot down the information on the number of votes cast and transferred, and pass this information to fellow agents who, in a form of relay race, will carry the information outside the Counting Hall to the temporary headquarters of the political parties. There unofficial tallies will be made, estimates derived and results projected and announced.

In the area of the chart labeled "Counting Hall" are the tables at which the members of the Electoral Commission are seated, ready and able to rule on any disputes about the counting process that may be referred to them from the various counting desks.