Presidential Elections Bill

Bill No. 21/1991

Read the first time on 28th June 1991.
An Act to make provision for the election of the President.
Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows:
PART I
PRELIMINARY
Short title and commencement
1.  This Act may be cited as the Presidential Elections Act 1991 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.
Interpretation
2.  In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —
“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];
“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” means the Chief Justice or a Judge of the Supreme Court nominated by the Chief Justice for the purpose of hearing an election petition;
“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 made pursuant to section 8 of the Parliamentary Elections Act [Cap. 218];
“polling district” means a part of an electoral division subdivided under section 9 of the Parliamentary Elections Act;
“Presidential Elections Committee” means the Presidential Elections Committee established under Article 18 of the Constitution;
“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.
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 and 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.
(3)  An appointment made by the Minister under this section may be revoked by him at any time.
Appointment of clerks and interpreters
4.  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 and those appointments 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.