it shall be fully comple ted. [1582-24.] No member of the board or election officer shall, before the announcement of the result, make any statement of the number of ballots cast, the number of votes given for any person, the name of any person who has voted or who has not voted, or of any other f act tending to show the state of the polls, nor shall he make any statement at any time, except as a witness before a court, tending to show how any person voted. [1582-21.] S ECTION  558 . Official Watchers at Counting of Ballots.  — During the counting of the votes by the board, a number of qualified voters of the precinct, not to exceed six, who shall represent as evenly as possible the opposing candidates voted for, and be nam ed by such candidates, shall be allowed within the polling place, but not within the guard rail, as watchers. Such watchers shall be allowed to freely witness the count and to hear the proceedings of the board and to take notes of what they see and hear, b ut shall not touch the ballots nor converse with the inspectors or any of them, nor with each other in such manner as to interfere with or interrupt the proceedings. TASCEc [1582-21.] Other persons than watchers and the officials attendant upon the counting shall be excluded. S ECTION  559 . Preliminaries to Counting of Vote.  — Before proceeding to count the ballots the board of inspectors shall first compare the registration lists and ascertain the number of persons who have voted as shown thereon. They shall then open the box of  ballots cast and shall count the ballots therein contained without unfolding them or exposing their contents, except so far as to ascertain that each ballot is single, and shall compare the number of ballots found in the box with the number shown by the r egistration lists to have been deposited therein. If the ballots found in the box shall be more than the number of ballots so shown to have been voted, the ballots shall all be replaced, without being unfolded, in the box from which they were taken and sha ll be thoroughly mingled therein and one of the inspectors designated by the board shall, without seeing the same and with his back to the box, publicly draw out as many ballots as shall be equal to such excess, and without unfolding them place them in a pac kage which shall be then and there securely sealed and marked "excess ballots", together with the signatures of the inspectors, which package shall be returned in the box with the other ballots and 179 Copyright 2012 CD Technologies Asia, Inc. and Accesslaw, Inc. Philippine Law Encyclopedia 2011