Clause 32

Each candidate may appoint an agent (referred to in this Act as the counting agent) to attend the counting of the votes and shall give written notice of the name and address of the counting agent so appointed to the Returning Officer.

The Returning Officer shall make arrangements for counting the votes, in the presence of such of the candidates and their counting agents as attend, as soon as practicable after he has received all the ballot boxes, and for that purpose shall give notice in writing to each candidate, or, if the candidate has appointed a counting agent, to the counting agent, of the time and place at which he will begin to count the votes.

The Returning Officer, his assistants and clerks, and the candidates and their counting agents, but no other persons except with the sanction of the Returning Officer, may be present at the counting of the votes.

Before the Returning Officer proceeds to count the votes, he or a person authorised by him shall, in the presence of such of the candidates and their counting agents as attend, open each ballot box and, taking out the papers therein, mix together the whole of the ballot papers contained in the ballot boxes.

The Returning Officer, while counting the votes, shall keep the ballot papers with their faces upwards and take all proper precautions for preventing any person from seeing the numbers printed on the backs of the papers.

The Returning Officer shall so far as practicable proceed continuously with counting the votes and shall endorse “rejected” on any ballot paper which he may reject as invalid.

The Returning Officer shall not count the tendered ballot papers but shall place them in separate packets according to the candidate whom they support and shall mark each packet with the name of the candidate and shall seal the packet and retain it unless it is required for the purposes of an election petition.

When the counting of the votes has been completed, the Returning Officer shall forthwith declare the candidate to whom the greatest number of votes is given to be elected unless any candidate or his counting agent applies to the Returning Officer for a recount, in which case a recount shall be made before the Returning Officer makes the declaration.

When an equality of votes is found to exist between any candidates, and the addition of a vote would entitle any of the candidates to be declared elected, the determination of the candidate to whom the one additional vote shall be deemed to have been given shall be made by lot in the presence of the Returning Officer in such manner as the Returning Officer shall determine.

Upon the completion of the counting and after the result has been declared by him, the Returning Officer shall seal up the ballot papers and all other documents relating to the election as required by this Act and shall, subject to subsection (11), retain the same for a period of 6 months and thereafter shall cause them to be destroyed unless otherwise directed by order of the Minister.

A Judge of the Supreme Court may make an order that any ballot paper or other document relating to an election which has been sealed as required by this Act be inspected, copied or produced at such time and place and subject to such conditions as the Judge may consider expedient, but no Judge shall make such an order unless he is satisfied that the inspection, copy or production is required for the purpose of instituting or maintaining a prosecution or an election petition in connection with the election.

Except as provided in this section, no person shall be allowed to inspect any such ballot paper or document after it has been sealed up in pursuance of subsection (10).