Section 72: Duty of secrecy

72. Duty of secrecy (1) (a) Every officer, clerk, candidate and agent in attendance at a polling station shall maintain and aid in maintaining the secrecy of the voting in the station, and shall not communicate except for a purpose authorised by law, before the poll is closed, to any person any information as to the name or number on the register of electors of an elector who has or has not applied for a ballot paper or voted at that station or as to the official mark. (b) No person shall interfere with an elector when marking his vote, or otherwise attempt to obtain in the polling station information as to the candidate for whom an elector in the station is about to vote or has voted, or communicate to any person any information obtained in a polling station as to the candidate for whom an elector in the station is about to vote or has voted, or as to the number on the back of the ballot paper given to an elector at the station. (2) Every officer, clerk, candidate and agent in attendance at the counting of the votes shall maintain and aid in maintaining the secrecy of the voting, and shall not attempt to ascertain at the counting the number on the back of a ballot paper, or communicate any information obtained at the counting as to the candidate for whom a vote is given in a ballot paper. (3) No person shall, directly or indirectly, induce an elector to display his ballot paper after he has marked it so as to make known to any person the name of the candidate for whom he has marked his vote. (4) Any person who contravenes this section shall commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months.