The Commission has already directed the Chief Election Officer to prepare and submit a Report “using the results of the recount, for consideration by the Commission”, pursuant to Article 177 (2) (b) of the Constitution and Section 96 of the Representation of the People Act.
The new argument is that section 96 of the Representation of the People Act confers upon the Chief Election Officer, a power to ascertain the validity of votes and that he can only calculate votes that he determines to be valid.
(1): “The Chief Election Officer shall, after calculating the total number of valid votes of electors which have been cast for each list of candidates, on the basis of the votes counted and the information furnished by returning officers under section 84(11), ascertain the result of the election in accordance with sections 97 and 98.
It is common knowledge that the Chief Election Officer has already submitted to the Commission, the total valid votes cast for each List of Candidates for the General and Regional Elections, as generated by the National Recount exercise.
Therefore, the Chief Election Officer has already complied with that part of section 96(1) of the Represen-tation of the People Act; and what he is now directed to do by the Commission is to comply with the latter part of the section, that is to say, “ascertain the result of the election in accordance with sections 97 and 98” and then prepare the Report referred to in section 96 (2)”.
