37. The Mission did not observe the voting outside Palau, which took place on 4 February 1990. -8-CHAPTER IX COUNTING AND TABULATION OF VOTES 38. The counting and tabulation of votes began at 9 p.m. on 6 February and continued until 13 February. Members of the Mission were present t!Jroughout the process during the Mission's stay in Palau. At the time of the Mission's departure, all boxes had been opened and the votes counted. witl1 the exception or some votes of absentee voters and of new registered voters. The process took place in public. Representatives of groups opposed to the Compact, as well ns several outside observers and journalists, were present. A police officer guarded the premises where the counting took place. 39. The process was carried out methodically and with scrupulous attention to detail. It revealed some minor technical errors on the part of pollir1g officials, but otherwise no irregularities. In the most serious case. a set o[ mnst~r keys to one ballot box was given by mistake to polling officials at one polling station. thus making room for possible irregularities. There was no evidence tJuweveJ·, that the ballots inside had been tampered with. 40. In contrast to previous practice, the Chairman of the Election CommissiOll was not present throughout the.process. This led to some delay in resolving sucl1 minor problems as did occur. The counting and tabulation was also bel~ up hy tl1e lnte arrival of certain boxes from outlying polling stations. -9-CHAPTER X RESULTS OF THE PLEBISCITE 41. The official results of the plebiscite as communicated to tlw Unit:ecl Stu.tes Department of the Interior on 5 March 1990 by President Ngiratkel Etpison are as follows (see annex VIII): Total registered voters 11,272 Total votes cast 7,747 nr (j fl .. , Total "yes" votes 4,633 (lt fj().f1 Total "no" votes ................................ . 2,988 ( lJ. :14.7. 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be a report on a plebiscite held in Palau, which is a political event. The report discusses the process of counting and tabulation of votes, the results of the plebiscite, and the presence of international observers. The text does not mention any economic, environmental, or scientific issues related to Palau. Therefore, it is likely that the text is related to politics or governance.

**Category**
Politics, Governance