Kate Bapela, spokesperson for the IEC, said the counting of votes at voting stations begins tonight after closing time.

• All ballot papers are counted at the voting station where they are cast, in the presence of party agents, independent candidate agents and accredited observers.

• Sealed ballot boxes are opened, and ballot papers are checked for the Electoral Commission’s security stamp. Ballots are then sorted and counted separately for each electoral contest, namely the proportional representation (PR) ballot, ward candidate ballot and, where applicable, the district council PR ballot.

• Following the count, the results for each contest are reconciled against the ballot papers received, issued, unused, spoilt and counted at the voting station.

• Results slips are captured in duplicate, signed by the Presiding Officer, and countersigned by party agents before being displayed at the voting station as soon as counting and tallying of results is completed.

• The Party agents are allowed to take pictures of the signed result slips.

• The results are subsequently scanned and captured at the local IEC office and subjected to verification and independent external auditing.

The Results Operations Centres provide political parties, independent candidates, observers and the media with an opportunity to monitor the capturing, verification and processing of results.

“Once counting, capturing and verification have been completed and outstanding queries resolved, the IEC will declare the final results and announce the allocation of seats in municipal councils within the prescribed seven-day period,” Bapela concluded.

For more from Berea Mail, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also check out our videos on our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok.

Click to subscribe to our newsletter – here