Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 16/1977

Read the first time on 9th November 1977.

An Act to amend the Parliamentary Elections Act (Chapter 50 of the Revised Edition).

Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows: —

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Act, 1977.

Amendment of section 2

2. Section 2 of the Parliamentary Elections Act (hereinafter in this Act referred to as “the principal Act”) is hereby amended by inserting immediately after the definition of “candidate” appearing therein the following definition: —

“ “Commissioner of National Registration” means the Commissioner of National Registration appointed under the National Registration Act (Cap. 45);”.

Amendment of section 5

3. Section 5 of the principal Act is hereby amended by inserting immediately after the word “exist” appearing at the end of subsection (3) thereof the words “or to be used as a place of residence”.

Amendment of section 13

4. Section 13 of the principal Act is hereby amended by deleting subsection (4) thereof and substituting therefor the following subsections: —

“(4) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act, the Registration Officer may —

(a)

before certifying any register of electors, transfer the name of any person who is no longer resident at the address shown in the register to the appropriate register, where that person has notified the Commissioner of National Registration in writing of his change of address on or before the last day for the inspection of the register of electors specified in the notice given by the Registration Officer under subsection (4) of section 10 of this Act;

(b)

at any time after certifying any register of electors for any electoral division, except between the issue of a writ of election under section 24 of this Act and polling day appointed for election in that division, remove from the register the name of any person where the Registration Officer has reason to believe that the address of that person as shown in the register has ceased to exist or to be used as a place of residence:

Provided that where the person whose name has been removed under this paragraph has notified the Commissioner of National Registration in writing of his change of address at the time of the removal of his name the Registration Officer shall transfer the name of that person to the appropriate register.

(5) The Registration Officer shall not remove or transfer any name under paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of this section unless at least two weeks before making the removal or transfer a notice has been given in the Gazette that he proposes to make the removal or transfer and that a list of the names of persons affected is available for inspection at such time and place or places as may be specified in the notice; and a notice for the purpose of this subsection may contain such particulars as the Registration Officer thinks sufficient and appropriate without specifying the names of persons who will be affected by the proposed removal or transfer.

(6) The Registration Officer shall have power where any name from any register has been removed by him under paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of this section —

(a)

to restore the name to the register if the removal has been made by mistake or through inadvertence; or

(b)

to enter the name in the appropriate register on the application of the person whose name has been removed and has not been transferred to the appropriate register at the time of the removal:

Provided that where a writ of election has been issued under section 24 of this Act for an election in any electoral division the Registration Officer shall not enter any name in the register of that division until after nomination day or, if a poll is to be taken, until after polling day.”.

Repeal and re-enactment of section 18

5. Section 18 of the principal Act is hereby repealed and the following substituted therefor: —

“Application of section 13 to revised register

18.—(1) Subsection (1) of section 13 of this Act shall apply to the certification of a revised register of electors as it applies to the certification of a register of electors.

(2) Subsections (2) to (4) of section 13 of this Act shall apply to a revised register of electors as they apply to a register of electors.”.

Amendment of section 43

6. Section 43 of the principal Act is hereby amended —

(a)

by deleting the last sentence appearing in the seventh, eighth and ninth lines of subsection (8) thereof; and

(b)

by inserting immediately after subsection (8) thereof the following subsections: —

“(9) Any name to be restored to the register under subsection (8) of this section shall, except as otherwise provided in subsection (11) of this section, be restored the day after the Registration Officer has satisfied himself that the applicant has a good and sufficient reason for not recording his vote or the day after the payment of the sum of five dollars to the Registration Officer, as the case may be.

(10) Where any person whose name is to be restored to the register under subsection (8) of this section has notified the Commissioner of National Registration of any change in his address and it appears from such change of address that he is no longer residing in the same electoral division, his name shall be restored to the appropriate register of the electoral division in which he is residing.

(11) Where a writ of election has been issued under section 24 of this Act for an election in any electoral division no name shall be restored to the register of that division until after nomination day or, if a poll is to be taken, until after polling day.”.

Amendment of section 81

7. Section 81 of the principal Act is hereby amended —

(a)

by deleting subsection (1) thereof and substituting therefor the following: —

“(1) No person —

(a)	attending a primary or secondary school as a student;
(b)	against whom an order of supervision has been made under paragraph (b) of section 30 of the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act (Cap. 112);
(c)	who is an undischarged bankrupt; or
(d)	who is not a citizen of Singapore,

shall take part in any election activity.”; and

(b)

by deleting the expression “section 47 of the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Ordinance, 1955” appearing at the end of subsections (4) and (7) thereof and substituting therefor in each case the expression “section 30 of the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act”.

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