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Presidential election count - Bill Watch Special
Veritas
April 02, 2008

The only results that have not yet been legally declared are the Presidential results

Legally effective declarations of all the successful Parliamentary and Council candidates have already been made at ward and constituency levels. It is not an offence to publicise the already declared Council and Parliamentary Results. These do not depend on the announcements by the ZEC National Command Centre. Nor is it an offence to add up and publicise polling station and constituency totals for the Presidential election which have already been publicly displayed.

Clarification of Position on Counting and Display of Votes Received in Presidential Election

There is a public paper trail of results in the Presidential Election - from the polling station level, through the ward and constituency levels up to the National Command Centre.

Votes cast at polling stations are counted on the spot at each polling station and the results immediately displayed outside each polling station. [Ref: Electoral Act, section 64(1)(e) as read with section 112]. Each polling station sends the results [as posted outside the polling station] to the relevant ward centre and these are totalled and displayed outside the ward centre. [Ref: ZEC publication]

Ward results are sent to the relevant House of Assembly constituency centre. Here they are added together. These totals are displayed outside the House of Assembly constituency centres. These results go to the relevant Senatorial constituency centre for further totalling and display. These results [only sixty] are sent to the National Command Centre [ref: Electoral Act, Second Schedule, paragraph 1(1)(c)]. The figures must be recorded on the constituency return in such a manner that the results of the count for each polling station are shown on the return. [Ref: Electoral Act, Second Schedule, paragraph 1(1)(a)]

There is no actual counting of votes at the National Command Centre. What takes place at the National Command Centre is the adding together of the figures contained in these sixty returns received from the Senate constituency centres. [Ref: Electoral Act, Second Schedule, paragraphs 2 and 3] The candidates, their chief election agents and accredited observers are entitled to be present throughout. The Chief Elections Officer must display each constituency return to those present and allow notes to be made of the contents of each return. The declaration of the result by the Chief Elections Officer follows immediately on the completion of the collation process.

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