Local Government: Municipal Electoral Act, 2000 (Act No. 27 of 2000)Chapter 6 : Counting58. Verification procedure |
| (1) | After receipt of the items mentioned in section 57(3), the counting officer must— |
| (a) | examine whether the seals are intact on those items; and |
| (b) | allow any agents or ward candidates present to examine whether the seals are intact. |
| (2) | After examining the seals, the counting officer must open all the sealed ballot boxes and containers and verify the information on the form completed by the presiding officer in terms of section 53(a) by comparing it with— |
| (a) | the number of used ballot boxes received; |
| (b) | the number of unused ballot boxes received; |
| (c) | the number of containers received; and |
| (d) | the contents of those boxes and containers. |
| (3) | The counting officer must deal with any irregularities and discrepancies found when complying with subsection (2) in the following manner: |
| (a) | The counting officer must immediately call for an explanation by the presiding officer who delivered the material; |
| (b) | the counting officer and the presiding officer must together attempt to resolve the irregularities and discrepancies; |
| (c) | the agents and ward candidates present in the counting station must— |
| (i) | be informed immediately about the irregularities and discrepancies; |
| (ii) | as far as possible be present at all discussions between the counting officer and the presiding officer; and |
| (iii) | be invited to contribute to the discussion and the search for solutions; |
| (d) | if any of the material appears to have been unlawfully tampered with or is missing, the counting officer must call in the assistance of a member of the security forces to investigate the matter and to assist in the search for any missing material. |
| (4) | The counting officer must— |
| (a) | keep a written record of— |
| (i) | the nature of each irregularity and discrepancy; |
| (ii) | the manner in which those irregularities and discrepancies were dealt with; and |
| (iii) | the explanations offered by the presiding officer and any of the agents or ward candidates; and |
| (b) | submit a full report on the matters referred to in paragraph (a) to the chief electoral officer as soon as possible. |