What happens after the polls have closed?
Polling Stations will close at 18:00 hours. If at 18:00 hours there are still voters in the queue, the Presiding Officer or Assistant Presiding Officer must take note of the last person in the queue so that no one else joins the queue after 18:00 hours. The usher will be placed at the end of the queue to ensure no one else joins the queue.
Those in the queue will continue voting until the last voter has voted.
When the last voter leaves the polling station, the Presiding Officer or Assistant Presiding Officer shall seal the slots of the ballot boxes using padlock seals and record the seal numbers.
The Presiding Officer or Assistant Presiding Officer will count the number of unused, cancelled and spoilt ballot papers with the assistance of the Polling Station Officers, and reconcile the figures and once finalized will enter the information in the Record Log Book.
Counting the Ballot Papers
Counting of the ballot papers is performed at the Polling Station after the closing of the poll.
Party Representatives, Candidates, Local Monitors and International Observers can witness the counting. Accredited Media Representatives are also allowed in the Polling Station during the counting.
The serial numbers of the seals are checked to confirm that they are the same seals that were applied to the ballot box at the commencement of polling.
The Parliamentary ballot box will be opened first. The Polling Station Officers will first count the number of ballot papers before sorting them. The Presiding Officer or Assistant Presiding Officer will record the information in the record log book.
Under the Presiding Officer or Assistant Presiding Officer’s supervision the Parliamentary ballot papers are sorted by unfolding each one and reading out the name of the candidate against who the mark has been placed. After they have been sorted each pile will be counted and recorded. When the Parliamentary ballot papers are balanced the result is recorded in the Record Log Book.
Once the count of the Parliamentary ballot papers have been completed the same procedure is used to count the Presidential ballot papers.
Recording and Announcing the Results
Once the counting of all the ballot papers have been completed the Presiding Officer or Assistant Presiding Officer will:
- Record the number of votes counted for each candidate;
- Add the number of votes for each candidate and record the total valid votes for the /stream/ polling station;
- Record the number of null and void votes for the stream/polling station;
- Add the total valid votes (for all the candidates) and the null and void votes and record the total number of ballot papers found in the ballot box for the stream/polling station;
- Sign the forms and invite candidates and party agents present to sign the forms;
- Invite monitors and observers present to sign the result forms if they wish;
- Hand completed copies of the Result Forms to each party representative that has signed the original; and
- Announce the results both inside and outside the polling station.