ELECTORAL ACT ____________________________________________________________________________________ 54A Recording of ballot papers before polling Subject to section 84, before the commencement of the poll at any polling station, or before the commencement of the poll on the first polling day where voting is to take place over two or more days, the presiding officer shall, in the presence of such persons entitled in terms of section 55(2)(b) to be within the polling station as are present, count and record the total number of ballot papers received at the polling station. [Section inserted by s. 39 of Act No. 17 of 2007] 55 Conduct of poll (1) … [Subsection repealed by s. 40 of Act No. 17 of 2007] (2) Subject to subsection (7), the presiding officer and other officers at the polling station shall— (a) keep order thereat and regulate the number of voters to be admitted at a time; and (b) exclude all persons other than— (i) electoral officers present for the performance of their official duties; and (ii) the candidates; and [Subparagraph substituted by s. 18 of Act No. 3 of 2012] (iii) the number of election agents permitted in terms of subsection (2a); and [Subparagraph substituted by s. 18 of Act No. 3 of 2012] (iiia) police officers on duty; and [Subparagraph inserted by s. 18 of Act No. 3 of 2012] (iv) accredited observers; and (v) persons who are recording their votes; and (vi) such other classes of persons as may be prescribed. [Paragraph (b) substituted by s. 40 of Act No. 17 of 2007] [Subsection amended by s. 18 of Act No. 3 of 2012] (2a) Subject to section 95(5) (which empowers the Commission to prescribe that only one election agent representing each political party may be appointed during concurrent elections), each candidate in an election shall be entitled to have one election agent present in the polling station while polling is taking place, and another two such agents outside the polling station, either one of whom may act as a substitute for the first-mentioned agent if for any reason the first-mentioned agent leaves the polling station. [Subsection inserted by s. 18 of Act No. 3 of 2012 and amended by s. 24 of Act No. 6 of 2014] (3) Save as is provided in subsection (2), the presiding officer may require any person, other than a person actually recording his or her vote, to leave the polling station and— (a) any person who fails to leave the polling station when so required may be arrested on the order of the presiding officer and shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level four or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months or to both such fine and such imprisonment; (b) any person empowered by law to make arrests shall carry out an order of the presiding officer in terms of paragraph (a). (4) The powers conferred by subsections (2) and (3) shall not be exercised so as to prevent any voter who is entitled to vote at a polling station from having an opportunity of voting at that polling station. (5) For the purpose of keeping order at a polling station and the area surrounding it, every electoral officer at the polling station shall have the powers of a peace officer under the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act [Chapter 9:07]. [Subsection as substituted by s. 40 of Act No. 17 of 2007] (6) A presiding officer may call upon a police officer for assistance in keeping order at the polling station and the area surrounding it, and every police officer so called upon shall provide whatever assistance is needed. [Subsection inserted by s. 40 of Act No. 17 of 2007] 77