ELECTORAL ACT (as amended at 24th January 2008) (b) written statement of a competent witness in terms of subsection (3) of section seventy-five, where the constituency elections officer proposes to reject the vote concerned on the ground that the competent witness was not entitled to mark the ballot paper concerned; and, if a candidate or agent objects to his or her decision, the returning officer shall add to the endorsement on the relevant declaration of identity the words “Rejection Objected To”. (2) The constituency elections officer shall keep all rejected declarations, with the attached envelopes or ballot papers, as the case may be, separate from other documents. 79 Postal ballot papers to be placed in ballot box (1) When all the covering envelopes in a postal ballot box have been opened and their contents dealt with in accordance with sections seventy-seven and seventy-eight, the constituency elections officer shall open each unopened ballot paper envelope and compare the number on the envelope with the number on the ballot paper therein. (2) If the number on the ballot paper envelope— (a) agrees with that on the ballot paper, the constituency elections officer shall, subject to subsection (3), mark the ballot paper with the official mark and place the ballot paper in a ballot box previously shown open and empty to the candidates and their election agents present and sealed with the seal of the constituency elections officer; (b) does not agree with that on the ballot paper, the constituency elections officer shall endorse “Rejected” on the ballot paper and shall attach the ballot paper to the envelope. (3) If a written statement by a competent witness in terms of subsection (3) of section seventy-five accompanies a ballot paper in a ballot paper envelope and the constituency elections officer is not satisfied from such statement that the competent witness was entitled in terms of that section to mark the ballot paper, the constituency elections officer shall, subject to subsection (4), endorse “Rejected” on the ballot paper and shall attach the ballot paper to the ballot paper envelope and the written statement. (4) The constituency elections officer shall show to the candidates and their election agents present every written statement of a competent witness in terms of subsection (3) of section seventy-five, where the constituency elections officer proposes to reject the vote concerned on the ground that the competent witness was not entitled to mark the ballot paper concerned, and, if a candidate or election agent objects to his or her decision, the constituency elections officer shall add to the endorsement on the relevant ballot paper the words “Rejection Objected To”. 80 Safe-keeping of documents (1) The constituency elections officer shall, immediately after the declaration of the result of the poll, seal in a packet or container— (a) all original applications for postal ballot papers; (b) the counterfoils of ballot papers issued in terms of section seventy-two; (c) ballot papers referred to in section seventy-two which are unused; (d) the declarations of identity not dealt with under paragraph (e) or (f); - 60 -