Arrival in Singapore of ballot boxes from overseas polling stations
30. The Returning Officer must ensure that every ballot box arriving in Singapore from an overseas polling station in an election is kept in safe custody and is not opened until the counting, at the counting place for overseas votes, of the votes cast at overseas polling stations in the election.
[S 234/2019 wef 01/04/2019]
Opening of ballot boxes
31.—(1) Before the Returning Officer proceeds to count the votes, he or a person authorised by him shall carry out the following in the presence of such of the candidates and their counting agents as attend at the counting place for overseas votes:
(aa)
arrange all the ballot boxes received according to their overseas polling stations;
[S 234/2019 wef 01/04/2019]
(a)
open every ballot box from each overseas polling station that is received unless prohibited by paragraph (2); and
(b)
take all the ballot papers out from the opened ballot boxes.
(2) The Returning Officer must not open any ballot box from an overseas polling station that reaches the custody of the Returning Officer in Singapore —
(a)
after the deadline specified in section 49A(1)(a) of the Act; or
(b)
where the Returning Officer extends time under section 49A(2) of the Act, after the extended deadline.
[S 234/2019 wef 01/04/2019]
Sorting and counting of ballot papers
32.—(1) The Returning Officer or a person authorised by him shall mix together all ballot papers from the opened ballot boxes and sort the ballot papers according to electoral divisions.
(2) The Returning Officer or a person authorised by him shall then unfold the ballot papers and count the ballot papers (except tendered ballot papers), keeping the ballot papers with their faces upwards, and taking all proper precautions for preventing any person from seeing the serial numbers printed on the back of the ballot papers.
(3) The Returning Officer and all persons authorised by him shall so far as practicable proceed continuously with counting the votes and shall endorse “rejected” on any ballot paper which he may reject as invalid in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
(4) The Returning Officer and all persons authorised by him shall not count the tendered ballot papers but shall place them in separate packets according to the candidate or group of candidates whom they support and shall mark each packet with the name of the candidate or group of candidates and shall seal the packet and retain it unless it is required for the purposes of an application under section 90 of the Act.
Recounting of overseas votes
33.—(1) This regulation only applies where the Returning Officer has made a declaration under section 49(7)(b) or (7E)(b) of the Act in respect of an election in an electoral division.
(2) The Returning Officer must conduct a recount of the votes cast by overseas electors at the election in the electoral division if the difference between the following is 2% or less of the total number of votes (excluding rejected votes and tendered votes) cast in Singapore and at the overseas polling stations at the election:
(a)
the total number of votes given in Singapore and at the overseas polling stations to the candidate or (as the case may be) group of candidates with the most votes at the election;
(b)
the total number of votes given in Singapore and at the overseas polling stations to any other candidate or (as the case may be) group of candidates at the election.
(3) The recount of the votes cast by overseas electors under paragraph (2) —
(a)
may be conducted only once;
(b)
must take place as soon as practicable after the counting of those votes under section 49A of the Act is completed; and
(c)
must follow as far as practicable the same procedure as for the counting of those votes under sections 49A and 50 of the Act.