ELECTORAL ACT ____________________________________________________________________________________ [69 Procedure after counting at polling station and collating at constituency centre] [Section repealed by s. 49 of Act No. 17 of 2007] 70 Custody and disposal of ballot and other papers (1) A constituency elections officer shall not open any— (a) closed and sealed ballot box or sealed packet that has been delivered to him or her in terms of section 64(1)(a) and (b); or [Paragraph as amended by s. 50 of Act No. 17 of 2007] (b) sealed packet containing documents referred to in section 79; or [Paragraph amended by s. 48 of Act No. 6 of 2014] (c) closed and sealed postal ballot box or sealed packet referred to in section 64(1)(a) and (b); [Paragraph as amended by s. 50 of Act No. 17 of 2007] while such ballot boxes and packets remain in his or her custody. (2) As soon as may be after the constituency elections officer has sealed or received into his or her custody all the ballot boxes and packets referred to in subsection (1), he or she shall transmit them to the places designated by the Chief Elections Officer and shall endorse on each packet a description of its contents and the date of the election to which it relates. [Subsection as amended by s. 50 of Act No. 17 of 2007] (3) The Chief Elections Officer shall— (a) unless an election petition is lodged in relation to the ward or constituency concerned, cause to be destroyed all the documents referred to in subsection (1) relating to that constituency not earlier than the fourteenth day after the end of the election period; (b) if an election petition is lodged in relation to any constituency within fourteen days after the end of the election period to which the election relates, retain for six months all the documents referred to in subsection (1) relating to that ward or constituency and then, unless otherwise directed by an order of the Electoral Court, shall cause them to be destroyed. [Subsection as substituted by s. 50 of Act No. 17 of 2007] (4) No person shall open any packet referred to in subsection (1) or permit any such packet to be opened, except in terms of an order of the Electoral Court, which may be granted by the Electoral Court on its being satisfied that the inspection or production of the contents of such packet is required for the purpose of instituting or maintaining a prosecution for an offence in relation to an election or return or for the purpose of a petition questioning an election or return. (5) An order of the Electoral Court referred to in subsection (4) may be made subject to such conditions as the Electoral Court may think fit to impose: Provided that an order which authorises the opening of any sealed packet containing counterfoils or counted ballot papers shall be made subject to such conditions as are necessary to ensure that the way in which any particular voter has voted shall not be discovered until it is proved that he or she has voted and his or her vote has been declared by the Electoral Court to be invalid. (6) Every person who carries into effect any order of the Electoral Court referred to in subsection (4) which authorises the opening of any sealed packet containing counterfoils shall take care to ensure that the way in which any particular voter has voted shall not be discovered until it is proved that he or she has voted and his or her vote has been declared by the Electoral Court to be invalid. (7) Where an order is made for the production by the Chief Elections Officer of any document in his or her possession relating to a specified election, the production by him or her of the document ordered, in such manner as may be directed by such order or by a rule of court, shall be conclusive evidence that such document relates to the specified election, and any endorsement appearing on a packet of ballot papers produced by the Chief Elections Officer shall be evidence of such papers being what they are stated to be by the endorsement. 88