Section 26 in Karnataka Ayurvedic and Unani Practitioners' Registration and Medical Practitioners' Miscellaneous Provisions Rules, 1964
26.
(1)The Returning Officer shall open, in the presence of the members present, the ballot box, count the number of ballot papers taken out therefrom and scrutinise the ballot papers and separate those which in his opinion are valid from those which in his opinion are invalid endorsing on the latter the word "rejected" and the ground of rejection, and arrange all the valid ballot papers in a bundle.(2)The Registrar shall reject a ballot paper-(a)if it bears any mark or writing which the elector can be identified, or(b)if no vote is recorded thereon, or(c)if votes are given on it in favour of more than one candidate, or(d)if the mark indicating the vote thereon is placed in such manner as to make it doubtful to which candidate the vote has been given, or(e)if it is a spurious ballot paper:Provided that a ballot paper shall not be rejected merely on the ground that the mark indicating the vote is indistinct or made more than once, if the intention that the vote shall be for a particular candidate clearly appears from the way the paper is marked.(3)Before rejecting any ballot paper under this rule the Returning Officer shall allow each candidate a reasonable opportunity to inspect the ballot paper but shall not allow him to handle it or any other ballot paper.(4)Every ballot paper which is not rejected shall be counted as one valid vote. After the completion of the counting the Returning Officer shall record in a statement the total number of votes polled by each candidate and announce the same.(5)After such announcement has been made the Returning Officer may either on his own initiative or at the instance of any candidate recount the votes:Provided that nothing herein contained shall make it obligatory on the Returning Officer to recount the same more than once.When a recount of votes is made under this sub-rule the Returning Officer shall amend the statement referred to in sub-rule (4), to the extent necessary after such recount and announce the amendment so made by him.(6)After the total number of votes polled by each candidate has been announced under sub-rule (4) or sub-rule (5), the Returning Officer shall declare the candidate to whom the largest number of valid votes has been given to have been duly elected.(7)If after the counting of the votes is completed, an equality of votes is found to exist between any candidates, and the addition of one vote will entail any of those candidates to be declared elected, the Returning Officer shall forthwith decide between those candidates by lot, and proceed as if the candidate on whom the lot falls had received an additional vote. He shall thereafter declare the candidate on whom the lot falls to have been duly elected.(8)The Returning Officer shall then prepare and certify a return of the election in Form VII.(9)Rules 14 and 15 shall mutatis mutandis apply to the election of a President.
