ELECTORAL ACT ____________________________________________________________________________________ (b) the Electoral Court may examine any witness or any person in court, even though such witness or person is not called or examined by any party to the petition; (c) after any examination in terms of paragraph (b) the witness or person may be crossexamined by or on behalf of the petitioner and respondent or either of them. (2) A witness who, in the course of the trial of an election petition, wilfully makes a false statement of fact material to the proceedings which he or she knows to be false or does not know or believe to be true shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level fourteen or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or to both such fine and such imprisonment. 175 Witnesses not excused from answering incriminating questions (1) No person who is called as a witness at the trial of any election petition shall be excused from answering any question relating to any electoral malpractice at or connected with an election then forming the subject of inquiry, on the ground of privilege or on the ground that the answer thereto may incriminate or tend to incriminate himself or herself. [Subsection as amended by s. 87 of Act No. 17 of 2007] (2) If any witness fully answers to the satisfaction of the Electoral Court every question relating to any matter mentioned in subsection (1) which he or she is required by the High Court to answer, and the answer to which may incriminate or tend to incriminate him or her, he or she shall be absolutely freed and discharged from all liability to prosecution, either at the public instance or at the instance of any private party, for any offence under this Act, committed by him or her prior to the time that the witness gave his or her evidence and at or in relation to the election concerned or in relation to which the witness may have been so examined, and the witness shall be entitled to receive from the Electoral Court under the hand of the Registrar thereof a certificate stating that he or she is so freed and discharged from all liability to prosecution as aforesaid. (3) No evidence given by a witness referred to in subsection (1) shall, except upon a charge of contravening subsection (2) of section one hundred and seventy-four, be admissible in evidence against him or her in any criminal or civil proceedings to which he or she is a party. 176 Respondent may testify that election of petitioner undue On the trial of a petition complaining of an undue election or undue return and claiming the seat for some person the respondent may give evidence to prove that the election of that person was undue, in the same manner as if the respondent had presented a petition complaining of such election. 177 When non-compliance with this Act invalidates election An election shall be set aside by the Electoral Court by reason of any mistake or noncompliance with the provisions of this Act if, and only if, it appears to the Electoral Court that— (a) the election was not conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in this Act; and (b) such mistake or non-compliance did affect the result of the election. 178 Withdrawal of election petition (1) An election petition may be withdrawn at any time. (2) If a petition is withdrawn the petitioner shall be liable to pay the costs of the respondent. (3) When there are more petitioners than one, no application to withdraw a petition shall be made without the consent of all the petitioners. 135