Presidential Elections Act

(CHAPTER 240A)

(Original Enactment: Act 27 of 1991)

REVISED EDITION 2011

(15th July 2011)

An Act to make provision for the election of the President.

[2nd November 1992]

PART I

PRELIMINARY

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Presidential Elections Act.

Interpretation

2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“ballot box” includes a ballot container;

“ballot display” means an electronic video display, image or representation of a ballot paper on a screen;

“candidate” means a person who is nominated as a candidate for election to the office of President;

“Commissioner of National Registration” means the Commissioner of National Registration appointed under the National Registration Act (Cap. 201);

“direct recording electronic voting machine” or “DRE voting machine” means any mechanical, electronic or electro-optical machine that can —

(a)	be activated by a voter to mark or record his vote for any candidate or group of candidates on a ballot display on the machine;
(b)	process the vote by means of a computer program;
(c)	instantaneously record and store that vote within a memory device within the machine; and
(d)	sort and count votes marked or recorded on all ballot displays on that machine,

and includes any computer program that is used in the operation of the machine;

“direct recording electronic voting system” or “DRE voting system” means any voting system using DRE voting machines;

“election” means an election for the purpose of electing the President;

“election agent” means a person named under section 43 by or on behalf of a candidate as his agent for an election and includes any candidate acting in his capacity of election agent;

“Election Judge” has the same meaning as in the Constitution;

“elector” means a person whose name is entered in the register as an elector;

“electoral division” means an electoral division specified in a notification for the time being in force under section 8 of the Parliamentary Elections Act (Cap. 218);

“overseas elector” means an elector who is registered under the Parliamentary Elections Act in any register of electors as an overseas elector;

“overseas polling station” has the same meaning as in the Parliamentary Elections Act;

“polling district” means a part of an electoral division subdivided under section 9 of the Parliamentary Elections Act;

“polling station” means any polling station established by or under the authority of the Returning Officer under section 18 for voters to cast their votes at an election, and includes any overseas polling station;

“Presidential Elections Committee” means the Presidential Elections Committee established under Article 18 of the Constitution;

“principal election agent” means an election agent of a candidate who has been appointed under section 43(2A) as the principal election agent;

“register” or “register of electors” means the register of electors for any particular electoral division maintained under the Parliamentary Elections Act;

“Registration Officer” means the Registration Officer appointed under section 3 of the Parliamentary Elections Act and includes any Assistant Registration Officer so appointed;

“Returning Officer” means the Returning Officer appointed under section 3;

“tendered votes list” means the list referred to in section 29;

“voter” means a person who, whether his name does or does not appear in a register of electors, applies to vote or votes at an election.

[12/93; 18/99; 19/2001; 14/2008]

Appointment of Returning Officer and Assistant Returning Officers

3.—(1) The Minister may appoint a Returning Officer and such number of Assistant Returning Officers as he may, from time to time, think fit.

(2) An Assistant Returning Officer shall have all the powers and may perform all the duties of the Returning Officer.

(3) Any reference in this Act to the Returning Officer shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be deemed to include a reference to an Assistant Returning Officer.

(4) An appointment made by the Minister under this section may be revoked by him at any time.

Appointment of clerks and interpreters

4.—(1) The Returning Officer may, from time to time, appoint such number of clerks and interpreters as may be necessary for the purposes of this Act.

(2) The appointments made under subsection (1) may be revoked at any time.

Appointment of acting Returning Officer

5. If the Returning Officer is, by sickness or other cause, prevented or disabled from performing any of his duties under this Act and there is no time for any other person to be appointed by the Minister, the Returning Officer may appoint one of the Assistant Returning Officers to act for him.

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