(ii) to co-operate with polling station officers in the operations relating
to the casting and counting of votes;
(iii) to refrain from interfering unjustifiably and in bad faith with the
duties of the polling station officers so as not to disturb the process of
casting and counting the votes;
(iv) to maintain the secrecy of the ballot.”
34. Of particular interest, as shall become evident in the course of the present judgment, is the right
under section 73(a)(iv) of the PPEA, that is to say, the right to be consulted about any question
raised on the operation of the polling station whether during the casting or the counting of the
votes.
35. Part VII of the PPEA addresses issues concerning the vote and the voting process. Section 74 of
the Act cements the fundamental democratic and electoral law principle of one person one vote.
Again, the Court shall revert to this fundamental principle in the course of the present judgment.
36. Section 75 (1) of the PPEA again prescribes another important rule, namely that, as a general rule,
a person (a registered voter) is allowed to exercise his or her right to vote at a polling station
located at the registration centre where he or she was registered. However, Section 75 (2) of the
Act then prescribes a qualification to this rule by stating that if it is not possible for a person to
vote at a polling station located at the registration centre where that person is registered, the
registration officer of that centre or other duly authorized officer may, on the request of such
person, grant such person written authorization in the prescribed form to vote at a polling station
located in the place where he or she will be present on the polling day and, in that case, the polling
station officers at such other polling station must record, in the manner prescribed by the
Commission’s instructions in writing such person’s name, the number of his or her voter’s
registration certificate and the place of his registration.
37. Section 75 concludes with a rider in the proviso thereof which provides that the registration officer
or other authorized officer may at his or her sole discretion refuse to grant the request for transfer.
38. Again we shall revert to this provision, in its context, as we deal with the issue of excess or
missing votes or ballots in the present proceedings.
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