Crisis management power if arrival of overseas votes delayed
19.—(1) The Returning Officer may exercise the crisis management power in paragraph (2) if the Returning Officer —
(a)
has made a declaration under section 49(7)(b) or (7E)(b) of the Act in respect of an election in an electoral division; and
(b)
is of the opinion that —
(i)
one or more sealed ballot boxes containing votes cast at an overseas polling station are unlikely, for any reason, to reach the custody of the Returning Officer within the period specified in section 56D(3) of the Act; or
(ii)
a substantial number of return envelopes containing postal ballot papers are unlikely, for any reason, to reach the custody of the Returning Officer within the period specified in section 56D(3) of the Act despite being posted before the end of the postal voting period for that election.
(2) The Returning Officer may specify a later date for the purposes of section 56D(3) of the Act.
(3) A later date specified under paragraph (2) must not be later than the 17th day after polling day in Singapore.
(4) If a later date is specified under paragraph (2) —
(a)
the application of section 56C of the Act to that election is to be modified by treating the references to “the expiry of 10 days after polling day in Singapore for the election” in section 56C(1), (2)(a) and (3) of the Act as if they were references to that later date;
(b)
the counting of all overseas votes must be postponed to that later date; and
(c)
the Returning Officer must specify the time and location for the counting of all overseas votes.
Crisis management response if ballot box lost or destroyed after close of poll
20.—(1) The Returning Officer must carry out the crisis management response in paragraph (2) if one or more sealed ballot boxes containing votes cast at a polling station for an election in an electoral division are lost or destroyed at any time —
(a)
after the close of the poll at the polling station; and
(b)
before the ballot box reaches the counting place specified in respect of the polling station.
(2) The Returning Officer must —
(a)
wholly abandon the counting of all votes cast at the affected polling station for the election in the affected electoral division; and
(b)
restart the poll at the affected polling station if the Returning Officer is satisfied that the result of that election could be affected.
(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(b) —
(a)
the result of the election in the affected electoral division could be affected if the number of potential votes is equal to or more than the difference between the number of votes given in Singapore to the candidates or groups of candidates (as the case may be) with the 2 greatest number of votes; and
(b)
the number of potential votes is taken to be the number of electors who could vote at the election in the affected electoral division at —
(i)
the affected polling station;
(ii)
any other polling station to which paragraph (1) applies; or
(iii)
an overseas polling station.
(4) If the poll at the affected polling station is restarted as part of the crisis management response in paragraph (2) —
(a)
the Returning Officer must specify the date, hours and location for the restarted poll, and the specified date —
(i)
must, if the poll is for an election that is a part of a general election, fall within the time delimited by Article 66 of the Constitution for a general election; and
(ii)
must not be later than the 56th day after the date of publication of the notice of contested election in the Gazette under section 34(6)(d) or 34A(6)(d) of the Act, as the case may be;
(b)
the Returning Officer must postpone the counting of all overseas votes and the pre‑count examination of all postal ballot papers to a specified date, time and location in Singapore; and
(c)
if the polling station is in Singapore — the counting of votes cast at the restarted poll is to take place at a date, time and location in Singapore specified by the Returning Officer.
Supplementary provisions for regulation 20
21.—(1) This regulation applies if a crisis management response in relation to a polling station is carried out under regulation 20.
(2) The Returning Officer must, as soon as practicable, inform the candidates or groups of candidates (as the case may be) for the affected electoral division of the crisis management response.
(3) If any sealed ballot boxes containing votes cast at the affected polling station have been received by the Returning Officer —
(a)
the ballot boxes must not be unsealed and the votes inside the ballot boxes must not be counted; and
(b)
the Returning Officer must —
(i)
hold the ballot boxes in safe custody for 6 months; and
(ii)
destroy the ballot boxes at the end of those 6 months unless the President or Election Judge otherwise orders.
(4) Subject to paragraph (3), if the crisis management response does not require the restarting of any poll, the Returning Officer must proceed with the counting of votes for the election in the affected electoral division as nearly as possible in accordance with the Act.
(5) The following provisions apply if the crisis management response includes the restarting of the poll at the affected polling station:
(a)
if the affected polling station is in Singapore, votes must not be counted at —
(i)
the counting place specified in respect of the affected polling station (whether the votes are cast at the affected polling station or elsewhere); and
(ii)
all other counting places located at the same premises,
until the restarted poll is completed;
(b)
subject to sub-paragraph (a) and paragraph (3), the votes cast in Singapore for the election in the affected electoral division must proceed to be counted as nearly as possible in accordance with the Act;
(c)
the restarted poll must be conducted as nearly as possible in accordance with the Act;
(d)
all ballot boxes containing votes cast at an overseas polling station —
(i)
must not be unsealed;
(ii)
must be held in safe custody by the Returning Officer; and
(iii)
must be despatched by the Returning Officer to the counting place or places for overseas votes;
(e)
the counting of —
(i)
the overseas votes despatched under sub‑paragraph (d)(iii);
(ii)
the votes cast by the postal voting method; and
(iii)
the votes cast at the restarted poll,
must be conducted at the same time and as nearly as possible in accordance with the Act.
(6) If the poll for an election in an electoral division is to be conducted on 2 or more days as a result of a crisis management response in regulation 20, references to polling day in the Act are to be modified in the manner set out in regulation 18.