ELECTORAL ACT ____________________________________________________________________________________ 67A Recounting of votes (1) Within forty-eight hours after a constituency elections officer has declared a candidate to be duly elected in terms of section 66(1), any political party or candidate that contested the election in the ward or constituency concerned may request the Commission to conduct a recount of votes in one or more of the polling stations in the constituency. (2) A request in terms of subsection (1) shall— (a) be in writing, signed by an appropriate representative of the political party or candidate making the request; and (b) state specifically the number of votes believed to have been miscounted and, if possible, how the miscount may have occurred; and (c) state how the results of the election have been affected by the alleged miscount. (3) On receipt of a request in terms of subsection (1), the Commission shall— (a) immediately notify all the other political parties and candidates that contested the election of the nature of the request and of the date and time on which it was received by the Commission; and (b) order a recount of votes in the polling stations concerned if the Commission considers there are reasonable grounds for believing that the alleged miscount of votes occurred and that, if it did occur, it would have affected the result of the election. [Subsection substituted by s. 25 of Act No. 3 of 2012] (4) The Commission may on its own initiative order a recount of votes in any polling stations if it considers there are reasonable grounds for believing that the votes were miscounted and that, if they were, the miscount would have affected the result of the election. (5) Where the Commission orders a recount of votes in terms of this section, the Commission shall specify— (a) the polling stations whose votes are to be recounted and, where appropriate, the votes that are to be recounted; and (b) the date on which, and the place and time at which the recount is to take place; and (c) the procedure to be adopted for the recount; and shall take all necessary steps to inform accredited observers and all political parties and candidates that contested the election of its decision and of the date, time and place of the recount. (6) Accredited observers and representatives of candidates and political parties that contested the election shall be entitled to be present at any recount ordered in terms of this section. (6a) The Commission shall ensure that any recount of votes in terms of this section is completed within five days after the announcement of the last result in the Presidential, parliamentary or local authority election, as the case may be, and that the result of the recount is announced within twenty-four hours of its completion: Provided that the Electoral Court, on application, may for good cause extend either of the periods referred to in this subsection. [Subsection inserted by Act No. 3 of 2012 and amended by s. 48 of Act No. 6 of 2014] (7) The Commission’s decision on whether or not to order a recount and, if it orders one, the extent of the recount, shall not be subject to appeal. [Section inserted by s. 48 of Act No. 17 of 2007] 68 Chief Elections Officer to cause names of candidates elected to be published As soon as the names of the persons declared duly elected for the several constituencies have been received by the Chief Elections Officer, he or she shall cause a notice to be published in the Gazette, giving the full names of the members returned, together with the constituencies which they severally represent and the days with effect from which they were so elected. 87