| (1) |
An interested party may lodge with the Commission an objection material to the result of an election, concerning— |
| (a) |
any aspect of the voting or counting proceedings provided for in Chapter 5 or Chapter 6, respectively; or |
| (i) |
interference with or obstruction of election activities or processes in the vicinity of, at or in a voting station; or |
| (ii) |
interference with or influencing, intimidation or obstruction of voters or prospective voters in the vicinity of, at or in a voting station. |
| (2) |
An objection must be lodged by serving by no later than 17:00 on the second day after voting day, at the Commission's national office at the prescribed address, a written notice containing— |
| (a) |
a reference to the election concerned and the relevant section of the Act in terms of which the objection is brought; |
| (b) |
the full name and physical address of the objecting party; |
| (c) |
the postal address and telephone number where the objecting party can be contacted and, if available, the party's facsimile number and e-mail address; |
| (d) |
the interest of the objecting party in the matter; |
| (e) |
details of the objection and the aspect of the election concerned; |
| (f) |
detailed reasons for the objection; |
| (h) |
a list of supporting documents accompanying the notice of objection; and |
| (i) |
proof of service of copies of the notice and annexures on all other interested parties. |
| (3) |
The Commission may, on good cause shown, condone a late objection. |
| (4) |
In considering and deciding the objection referred to in this section, the Commission may take any one or more, or all, of the following actions: |
| (a) |
Investigate the factual basis of the objection or cause it to be investigated; |
| (b) |
afford other interested parties an opportunity to make written or verbal submissions; |
| (c) |
call for written or verbal submissions from other persons or parties; |
| (d) |
call upon the objecting party to submit further information or arguments in writing or verbally; or |
| (e) |
conduct a hearing on the objection. |
| (5) |
The Commission must consider the objection and either reject or uphold it. |
| (6) |
If the Commission decides to uphold the objection before the result of the election had been determined, the Commission may— |
| (a) |
decide that the votes cast at a particular voting station do not count in whole or in part; |
| (b) |
decide that the votes cast at a particular voting station in favour of a party or candidate must be deducted in whole or in part from the votes cast in favour of that party or candidate in the election; or |
| (c) |
reduce the number of votes cast in favour of a party or a candidate. |
| (7) |
If the Commission decides to uphold the objection after the result of the election had been declared, the Commission may— |
| (b) |
if it is of the opinion that the seriousness and extent of unlawful conduct or irregularities that occurred may justify the setting aside of the election, refer the objection to the Electoral Court for its decision. |
| (8) |
The Commission must immediately notify the objecting party and any other interested parties involved in the objection of its decision in terms of subsection (5). |
| (9) |
An objecting party or other party involved in the objection who feels aggrieved by the decision of the Commission may, within seven days of the Commission's decision, lodge an appeal to the Electoral Court in terms of section 20 of the Electoral Commission Act and the Rules of the Electoral Court. |
| (10) |
The Electoral Court must— |
| (a) |
consider an appeal contemplated in subsection (9) and either— |
| (ii) |
amend the decision of the Commission; |
| (iii) |
set aside the election; or |
| (iv) |
make an appropriate order; and |
| (b) |
notify the parties to the appeal of its decision. |
| (a) |
may, after having considered an objection referred to it by the Commission in terms of subsection (7)(b), either— |
| (i) |
reject the objection; |
| (ii) |
amend the result of the election; |
| (iii) |
set aside the election; or |
| (iv) |
make an appropriate order; and |
| (b) |
must notify the objecting party of its decision. |
| (12) |
The declared result of an election is not suspended by an appeal in terms of subsection (9) or a referral to the Electoral Court in terms of subsection (7)(b). |
[Section 65 substituted by section 10 of Act No. 14 of 2010]
Special Investigating Units and Special Tribunals Act, 1996
