Section 116, The Public Elections Act, 2012

(1) Every electoral officer, Polling Assistant, and pollingagent in attendance at a polling station shall– (a) maintain and aid in maintaining the secrecy of the ballot; and (b) not communicate, except for a purpose authorised by law before the poll is closed, information as to the name or number on the Register of Voters or a Gazette List , of any person who has or has not applied for a ballot paper or voted at that station or as to any official stamp or mark. (2) No electoral officer, Polling Assistant, polling agent or other person shall– (a) without lawful authority, obtain or attempt to obtain, in a polling station, information as to the candidate for whom a voter in the station is about to vote or has voted; or (b) without lawful authority interfere or attempt to interfere with a voter when casting his vote; (c) communicate at any time to a person, information obtained in a polling station as to the candidate for whom a voter in the station is about to vote or has voted; or 66 67 Infringement of secrecy. Falsification of return of election. (d) disclose the serial number of the ballot paper issued to a voter at the station. (3) Subsection (2) shall not be construed to extend to any procedures prescribed by this Act for recording the vote or votes of a voter who is unable to read or write or is incapacitated by blindness or other physical cause or disability from casting his vote himself. (4) No person, except a Presiding Officer or a person authorised by the Presiding Officer, shall communicate with any voter after the voter has received a ballot paper and before the voter has placed the ballot paper in a ballot box. (5) Every electoral officer, Polling Assistant, or polling agent in attendance at the counting of votes shall maintain and aid in maintaining the secrecy of the ballot, and shall not attempt to ascertain the counting, the serial number of a ballot paper or communicate any information obtained at the counting as to the candidate for whom a vote was cast by any particular ballot paper. (6) A person attending any proceedings relating to an election shall maintain and aid in maintaining the secrecy of the ballot and shall not without lawful authority– (a) communicate, before the poll is closed, to a person, information obtained at those proceedings as to any official stamp or mark to be used in connection with any paper; (b) communicate to a person at any time any information obtained at those proceedings as to the number of ballot papers issued to any person; 68 69 (c) attempt to ascertain at the proceedings in connection with the receipt of ballot papers, the number on any ballot paper; (d) attempt to ascertain at the proceedings in connection with the receipt of the ballot papers the candidate for whom any vote is given in any particular ballot paper or communicate any information with respect thereto obtained at those proceedings; or (e) capture an image of any marked ballot for any purpose whatsoever. (7) A person who contravenes this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not less than five million leones or to imprisonment for a term of two years.