Gibraltar Election Rules 1950
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Parliament 1950-15 ELECTIONS RULES Subsidiary Rules made under s.25. 1950.07.20-1 ELECTIONS RULES (1950.07.20-1) 21.7.1950 Amending Relevant current Commencement enactments provisions date Rules of 7.9.1950 r.3 23.7.1953 r.4 20.8.1953 r.27(2) 14.6.1956 rr.29, 42(1), (2) and (3) 9.6.1964 rr.9, 10(1), 45(1), (2) and (3) 1.2.1968 r.7(5) and Sch. 19.6.1969 rr.3, 4, 9(1), 15(2), 21(4), 30, 37(4), 42(1), (3) and (5), 44, 45(1), 46(4), 47 and 50 and Sch. Act. 1969-24 r.32(3) and Sch. LNs. 1980/005 rr.2, 6(3), 27(1), 33, 38(1) and Sch. 1983/068 rr. 2, 14(2), 16(2) and (3), 34 and 48 1987/147 rr. 9(1), 34(1) 5.11.1987 2007/114 r. 44 20.9.2007 © Government of Gibraltar (www.gibraltarlaws.gov.gi) 1950-15 Parliament ELECTIONS RULES Subsidiary ARRANGEMENT OF RULES 1950.07.20-1 Rule 1. Title. PART I PROVISIONS AS TO TIME 2. Time-table. 3. Computation of time. 4. Hours of poll. PART II STAGES COMMON TO CONTESTED AND UNCONTESTED ELECTIONS 5. Notice of election. 6. Nomination of candidates. 7. Subscription of nomination paper. 8. Consent to nomination. 9. Deposit required for elections. 10. Decisions as to validity of nomination papers. 11. Withdrawal of candidates. 12. Publication of nominations. 13. Method of election. PART III CONTESTED ELECTIONS General Provisions 14. Poll to be taken by ballot. 15. The ballot papers. 16. The official mark. Action to be taken before the Poll 17. Notice of poll. 18. Death of candidate. 19. Provision of polling stations. 20. Appointment of presiding officer and clerks. 21. Equipment of polling stations. 22. Appointment of polling and counting agents. 23. Declaration of secrecy. The Poll 24. Admission to polling stations. 25. Keeping of order in station. © Government of Gibraltar (www.gibraltarlaws.gov.gi) Parliament 1950-15 ELECTIONS RULES 26. Sealing of ballot boxes. Subsidiary 27. Question to be put to voters. 1950.07.20-1 28. Challenge of voter. 29. Voting procedure. 30. Method of voting. 31. Votes marked by the presiding officer. 32. Voting by blind persons. 33. Absentee voting by incapacitated persons. 34. Postal voters. 35. Tendered ballot papers. 36. Spoilt ballot papers. 37. Adjournment of poll in case of riot. 38. Procedure on close of poll. Counting of votes 39. Attendance at counting of votes. 40. The count. 41. Re-count. 42. Rejected ballot papers. 43. Decisions on ballot papers. 44. Revoked. PART IV FINAL PROCEEDINGS IN CONTESTED AND UNCONTESTED ELECTIONS 45. Declaration of result. 46. Return or forfeiture of deposit. PART V DISPOSAL OF DOCUMENTS 47. Arrangement of ballot papers. 48. Delivery of documents to Registrar of the Supreme Court. 49. Orders for production of documents. 50. Retention of documents. PART VI SUPPLEMENTAL 51. General duty of returning officer. 52. Powers and savings. SCHEDULE Forms © Government of Gibraltar (www.gibraltarlaws.gov.gi) 1950-15 Parliament ELECTIONS RULES Subsidiary 1950.07.20-1 © Government of Gibraltar (www.gibraltarlaws.gov.gi) Parliament 1950-15 ELECTIONS RULES Subsidiary Title. 1950.07.20-1 1. These Rules may be cited as the Elections Rules. PART I PROVISIONS AS TO TIME Time-table. 2. The proceedings at elections shall be conducted in accordance with the following table: Proceeding Time Publication of notice of – Not later than the twenty-eighth day election before the day of election. Publication of notice inviting – Not later than the twenty-eighth day applications to be treated as a before the day of election. postal voter Delivery of nomination papers – Not later than noon on the twenty-first day before the day of election. Despatch of notices of – Not later than the twentieth day before decisions on nomination and the day of election publication of statement as to persons nominated Delivery of notices of – Not later than noon on the eighteenth withdrawal of candidature day before the day of election Application to be treated as a – Not later than noon on the eighth day postal voter before the day of election. Production of medical – Not later than the sixth day before the certificate to vote under rule day of election. 33 Notice of poll – Not later than the fifth day before the day of election. Notice of appointment of – Not later than the third day before the polling or counting agents day of election. Publication of absentee list and – Not later than the second day before list of postal voters the day of election. Appointment of observers – Not later than the second day before under rule 33 the day of election. Polling – On the day of election © Government of Gibraltar (www.gibraltarlaws.gov.gi) 1950-15 Parliament ELECTIONS RULES Subsidiary Computation of time. 1950.07.20-1 3. For the purposes of rule 2, if the latest day by which an act or thing must be done be a Sunday or public holiday or the Saturday before or the Tuesday after Easter Sunday, such day shall be disregarded and the act or thing shall fall to be done not later than the day preceding, not being such an excluded day. The returning officer shall not be obliged to proceed with the counting of votes on any such excluded day but shall do so on the day next following, not being also an excluded day. Hours of poll. 4. The poll shall commence at nine o’clock in the morning and be kept open till ten o’clock in the afternoon of the same day and no longer. PART II STAGES COMMON TO CONTESTED AND UNCONTESTED ELECTIONS Notice of election. 5.(1) Notice of the election as in Form A in the Schedule, shall be prepared, signed and published by the returning officer. (2) Such notice shall be published in one or more daily newspapers and in such other way (if any) as the returning officer thinks best calculated to bring it to the attention of the electors. Nomination of candidates. 6.(1) Each candidate shall be nominated by a separate nomination paper as in Form B in the Schedule, delivered to the returning officer as hereinafter specified. (2) The nomination paper shall state the full names, place of residence and description of the candidate and the surname shall be placed first in the list of his names. (3) The description need not refer to his rank, profession or calling so long as, with other particulars of the candidate, it is sufficient to identify him. (4) If the description is unduly long, the returning officer after consultation (if possible) with the candidate or his election agent, proposer or seconder, may shorten it or substitute another. Subscription of nomination paper. © Government of Gibraltar (www.gibraltarlaws.gov.gi) Parliament 1950-15 ELECTIONS RULES Subsidiary 7.(1) The nomination paper shall be subscribed in the presence of the 1950.07.20-1 returning officer by two electors as proposer and seconder and by eight other electors as assenting to the nomination and shall be deemed to have been delivered to the returning officer when not less than the required number of persons have subscribed their names to it. (2) The returning officer shall provide nomination papers and shall, at the request of any elector, prepare for signature a nomination paper. (3) No person shall subscribe his name to more nomination papers than there are vacancies to be filled: Provided that a person shall not be prevented from subscribing his name to a nomination paper by reason only of his having subscribed his name to that of a candidate who has died or withdrawn before delivery of the first- mentioned paper. (4) If any person subscribes his name to nomination papers in contravention of the last foregoing paragraph, his signature shall be inoperative in all but those papers (up to the permitted number) which are first delivered. (5) In this rule “elector” means a person who is registered as an elector in the register to be used at the election or who, pending the publication of that register, appears from the electors list therefor, as corrected by the registration officer, to be entitled to be so registered, but shall not include a person who although so registered or entitled to be registered has not yet acquired voting rights. Consent to nomination. 8.(1) A person shall not be validly nominated unless his consent to nomination, given in writing on or within one month before the day fixed as the last day for the delivery of nomination papers, and attested by one witness, is delivered at the place and within the time for the delivery of the nomination papers: Provided that if the returning officer is satisfied that owing to absence from Gibraltar it has not been reasonably practicable for his consent in writing to be so given, a telegram consenting to his nomination and purporting to have been sent by him shall be deemed, for the purpose of this rule, to be consent in writing given by him on the day on which it purports to have been sent, and attestation of his consent shall not be required. (2) A candidate’s consent under this rule shall contain a statement that he is qualified as required by law to be elected to and to hold the seat in question. © Government of Gibraltar (www.gibraltarlaws.gov.gi) 1950-15 Parliament ELECTIONS RULES Subsidiary 1950.07.20-1 Deposit required for elections. 9.(1) A person shall not be validly nominated for an election unless the sum of £ 150 is deposited by him or on his behalf with the returning officer at the place and during the time for delivery of nomination papers.