ELECTORAL ACT ____________________________________________________________________________________ (a) he or she has been notified in terms of this section of a vacancy among the constituency members of the National Assembly; or [Paragraph amended by s. 15 of Act No. 6 of 2014] (b) a declaration is made by the Chief Elections Officer in terms of section fifty; or (c) a nomination day or the last nomination day, as the case may be, where no person has been duly nominated for election as a constituency member of the National Assembly; [Paragraph amended by s. 15 of Act No. 6 of 2014] publish a notice in the Gazette ordering a new election to fill the vacancy in the same manner, with any changes that may be necessary, as is provided in section thirty-eight in regard to a general election, and the provisions of this Act shall apply accordingly: Provided that— (i) the President shall not be required to act in terms of this subsection in respect of any vacancy in the membership of Parliament which arises within a period of twenty-one days before the making of a proclamation in terms of section 144 of the Constitution fixing a day or days for the holding of a general election; (ii) polling day or the last polling day, as the case may be, in the election to fill the vacancy shall not be more than ninety days after the vacancy occurred. [Proviso amended by s. 15 of Act No. 6 of 2014] (3) In the event of a vacancy occurring among the party-list members of the Senate or of the National Assembly, otherwise than through a dissolution of Parliament, the President of the Senate or the Speaker, as the case may be, shall notify the Commission of the vacancy, in writing, as soon as possible after he or she becomes aware of it. [Subsection inserted by s. 15 of Act No. 6 of 2014] (4) Upon being notified of a vacancy in terms of subsection (3), the Commission shall without delay— (a) notify the public of the vacancy by notice in the Gazette ; and (b) invite the political party in writing to submit the name of a qualified person to fill the vacancy, for which purpose the political party must lodge with the Commission a nomination paper in the prescribed form referred to in section 45E(2), countersigned by any two of the designated national office-bearers of the party referred to in section 38A(1)(a) (or by such other two office-bearers of the political party whom the Commission is satisfied are duly authorised to make the required countersignatures). [Subsection inserted by s. 15 of Act No. 6 of 2014] (5) The Chief Elections Officer shall, after scrutinising the nomination paper lodged in accordance with subsection (4)(b) (for which purpose he or she may refer the nomination paper to the appropriate provincial elections officer for additional scrutiny), inform the office-bearers concerned that the papers are in order or request them to make such corrections or alterations to, or supply such clarifications in connection with, the nomination paper as are required in the interests of accuracy and ensuring conformity with this Act. [Subsection inserted by s. 15 of Act No. 6 of 2014] (6) Upon the Chief Elections Officer being satisfied in terms of subsection (5) that the nomination paper is in order, the Commission shall without delay— (a) notify the public of the nomination to fill the vacancy by notice in the Gazette, giving the name, address and such other particulars of the party-list candidate as it considers necessary in the interests of public information; and (b) afford any person who is a voter to lodge any written objection (together with reasons for the objection) to the nomination within a specified time from the date of publication of the notice in the Gazette. [Subsection inserted by s. 15 of Act No. 6 of 2014] (7) As soon as possible after the last day for the lodging of objections in terms of subsection (6)(b) the Commission shall— 51