simply stating what is apparent from the posted returns. Journalists in the media especially will be at greater risk but presumably can be argued to be outside the reach of these provisions as they appear to cover members and office-bearers of political parties. VII VIII VOTE RE-COUNTS VOTER EDUCATION • Clause 25 amends Section 67A of the Act deals with recounting of votes. It must be recalled that vote re-counts may be done at the Commission’s own initiative or at the request of a contestant. The Commission is obliged to advise all other parties to the election of the request, including the date and time of its submission. • The standard to be applied before ordering a recount is that the Commission must consider that there exist ‘reasonable grounds for believing that the alleged miscount of votes occurred and that if it did occur, it would affect the result of the election”. • Therefore it is essentially a two-part test, first reasonable grounds for believing that a miscount occurred and second, that even if a miscount occurred it would have affected the election result. It is highly likely however that if the first part is demonstrated, there would be little cause to refuse the recount as it would be more likely that the miscount would have affected the result. • The new provision also requires that the recount must be completed within five (5) days after the last polling day of the election. The Electoral Court may however extend this period upon application. Given the peremptory language employed on the five day limitation, it is to be expected that any extension by the court would be done sparingly and only in those circumstances where it is unavoidable as the essence of the provision and indeed the intention of the legislature would be to expedite the election process and allow for finality. Entitlement to Provide Voter Education • Clause 13 of the Bill introduces Part IXA to the Act which deals with matters relating to Voter Education. The net effect of the provisions under sections 40B and 40C is that persons that are entitled to provide voter education are: - The Commission 16