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Short title.
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1. This Act may be cited as the Ceylon (Parliamentary Elections) Order in Council (Amendment) Act, No. 36 of 1984.
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Amendment of section 28 of Chapter 381.
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2. Section 28 of the Ceylon (Parliamentary Elections) Order in Council, 1946, (hereinafter referred to as “the principal enactment “) is hereby amended in subsection (5) of that section, by the substitution, for the expression eleven o’clock in the afternoon of the day of nomination,”, of the expression “eleven o’clock in the morning of the day of nomination,”.
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Replacement of section 28A of the principal enactment.
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3. Section 28A of the principal enactment is hereby repealed and the following section substituted therefor :
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” Recognized political parties for the purpose of elections.
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28A.
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(1) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, a political party entitled to be treated as a recognized political party under the Parliamentary Elections Act, No. 1 of 1981, on the day proceeding the date of the notice ordering the holding of an election, shall be entitled to be treated as a recognized political party for the purpose of elections under this Order.
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(2) Where a political party is entitled, by virtue of the operation of the provisions of subsection (1) to be treated as a recognized political party for the purposes of elections, the approved symbol allotted to such party under the Parliamentary Elections Act, No. 1 of 1981, shall, subject to the provisions of section 28D, be deemed to be the approved symbol allotted to that party under this Order.”.
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Amendment of section 29 of the principal enactment.
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4. Section 29 of the principal enactment is hereby amended in subsection (1) of that section, by the substitution, for the expression ” one o’clock in the afternoon of the day of nomination,”, of the expression ” eleven o’clock in the morning of the day of nomination,”.
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Insertion of new section 34A in the principal enactment.
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5. The following new section is hereby inserted immediately after section 34 of the principal enactment and shall have effect as section 34A of that enactment:
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” New nomination day to be fixed if no candidates stands nominated.
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34A. If on the day of nomination in any electoral district, no candidates stands nominated for that district by reason of the fact that –
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(a) no nomination papers are received by the returning officer by eleven o’clock in the morning of that day; or
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(b) all the nomination papers received by the returning officer by eleven o’clock in the morning of that day ;are rejected by him,
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the returning officer shall forthwith inform the Commissioner who shall commence^ or cause to be commenced, all proceedings relating to that election a fresh, so however, that the nomination day to be specified for that election shall be a date not earlier than thirty days, and not later than sixty days, from the last day of nomination specified for that election.”.
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Amendment of section 39 of the principal enactment.
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6– Section 39 of the principal enactment is hereby amended by the repeal of subsection (3) of that section, and the substitution therefor, of the following subsection : –
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” (3) Unless the Commissioner, by notification in the Gazette, appoint any other hour, the poll in any electoral district shall open at seven o’clock in the forenoon of the day appointed under section 35 and shall close at four o’clock in the afternoon of that day.”.
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Insertion of new-section 47A in the principal enactment.
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7. The following new section is hereby inserted immediately after section 47 of the principal enactment and shall have effect as section 47A of that enactment :-
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” Disturbances at polling stations.
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47A.
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(1) Where due to the occurrence of events of such a nature –
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(a) it is not possible to commence the poll at a polling station at the hour fixed for the commencement of the poll; or
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(b) the poll at such polling station commences at the hour fixed for the opening of the poll but cannot be continued until the hour fixed for the closing of the poll; or
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(c) any of the ballot boxes assigned to the polling station cannot be delivered to the returning officer,
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the presiding officer of such polling station shall forthwith inform the returning officer who shall in turn inform the Commissioner.
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(2) On receipt of an information under subsection (1) in relation to a polling station in an electoral district, the Commissioner may, if he is of the opinion that the result of the election for that electoral district would be affected by the failure to count the votes polled, or the votes which would have been polled, at such polling station, by Order published in the Gazette, declare the poll at such polling station void and appoint a date for taking a fresh poll at such polling station. The date so fixed shall be not earlier than two weeks and not later than four weeks from the date he receives the information in relation to that polling station. The Commissioner shall give notice of the new date of poll in at least one newspaper in each of the National Languages and by notices conpicuously displayed within such polling district.
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(3) The provisions of sections 36,37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 43A, 44, 45, 46, 47 and 48 shall mutatis mutandis, apply to, and in relation to, voting, and the counting of votes, at a poll taken in pursuance of an Order made under subsection (2). The register of electors to be used at that poll shall be same as that used at the earlier poll.
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(4) For the purposes of the application of the provisions of sections 52AA, 52B and 56 (2) to a poll taken in pursuance of an Order made under subsection (2), the references in those sections to ” the day following the date on which a poll is taken at such election” shall be deemed to be a reference to the day following the date fixed by that Order for the taking of such poll.
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(5) A person who votes more than once at an election by reason of his voting at a poll taken in pursuance of an Order made under subsection (2) shall be deemed not to be guilty of any offence under this Order.”.
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insertion of new section 48A in the principal enactment.
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8. The following new section is hereby inserted immediately after section 48 of the principal enactment and shall have effect as section 48A of that enactment :-
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” Counting of votes at election where poll is disturbed.
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48A.
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(1) Where the Commissioner has received an information under section 47A (1) in relation to a polling station in an electoral district, the counting of votes cast at the election for that electoral district shall commence after the returning officer receives all the ballot boxes relating to that electoral district, other than the ballot boxes from the polling station in relation to which such information has been received. The provisions of this Order relating to the counting of votes at an election shall apply to the counting of votes in the ballot boxes received by the returning officer. The returning officer shall count the votes in the ballot boxes and shall record the number of votes secured by each candidate.
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(2) If the Commissioner makes no Order under section 47A (2) in respect of any polling station in the electoral district to which the count relates, he shall direct the returning officer to declare elected, the candidate securing the highest number of votes at the count taken in accordance with subsection (1).
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(3) If the Commissioner makes an Order under section 47A (2) in respect of any polling station in the electoral district to which the count relates, the returning officer shall add the votes secured by each candidate at the count taken in accordance with subsection (1) to the votes secured by that candidate at the poll taken in pursuance of the Order under section 47A(2) and shall declare elected the candidate receiving the highest number of votes after such addition.”.
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