ELECTORAL ACT ____________________________________________________________________________________ by the Commission after consultation with the Chief Justice, for the payment of all costs, charges and expenses that may become payable by the petitioner— (a) to any person summoned as a witness on his or her behalf; and (b) to the respondent; shall be given by or on behalf of the petitioner. (4) Security given in terms of subsection (3) may be by recognizance entered into by the petitioner and sureties not exceeding four in number in a form approved by the Registrar of the Electoral Court, which recognizance shall be signed in the presence of the Registrar of the Electoral Court or a magistrate. [Subsection as amended by s. 79 of Act No. 17 of 2007] 169 Notice of election petition to be served on respondent Notice in writing of the presentation of a petition and of the names and addresses of the proposed sureties, accompanied by a copy of the petition, shall, within ten days after the presentation of the petition, be served by the petitioner on the respondent either personally or by leaving the same at his or her usual or last known dwelling or place of business. 170 Respondent may object to security provided (1) The respondent may, by notice in writing served upon the petitioner, within such period as may be prescribed in rules of court, object to any recognizance given in terms of section one hundred and sixty-eight on the ground that— (a) the sureties or any of them are insufficient; or (b) a surety is dead or cannot be found; or (c) the recognizance has not been signed by the person named therein; or (d) the recognizance is otherwise invalid or defective. (2) An objection in terms of subsection (1) shall be heard and decided by the Electoral Court and if the objection is allowed— (a) the petitioner may, within a further period to be fixed by the Electoral Court not exceeding ten days, remove the objection by a deposit of such sum of money as may be considered necessary by the Electoral Court to make the security sufficient; (b) if the petitioner does not remove the objection in the manner specified in paragraph (a), no further proceedings shall be heard on the petition. (3) If on the expiration of the period allowed for making objections no objection had been received, or after an objection is made the sufficiency of the security is established, the petition shall be deemed to be at issue. 171 Provisions as to trial of election petition (1) An election petition shall be tried by the Electoral Court in open court. (1a) If on the trial of an election petition a dispute of fact arises that cannot be resolved on the papers, the Court shall attempt to resolve the dispute by the hearing of oral evidence without referring the matter for trial as an action, and for that purpose the court— (a) may permit the parties to call and examine witnesses; and (b) may itself call and examine witnesses; whether or not the witnesses have deposed to affidavits filed in the proceedings. [Subsection inserted by s. 33 of Act No. 6 of 2018] (2) If, on the trial of an election petition praying the Electoral Court to determine that some person other than the respondent is entitled to be declared duly elected in place of the respondent, it is proved that any person who voted for the respondent— (a) was bribed or treated or subjected to undue influence by the respondent or anyone on behalf of the respondent; or 132