Revised Laws of Mauritius

R20 – 1 [Issue 4]

REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE ACT Act 14 of 1958 – 16 August 1958

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

SECTION PART I – PRELIMINARY 1. Short title 2. Interpretation 2A. Local government elections 2B. Rodrigues Regional Assembly

election 3. Electoral Commissioner and his

deputy PART II – REGISTRATION OF

ELECTORS 4. Compilation of registers 4A. Residence qualification 5. Registration officers 6. Registration office 6A. Registration areas 7. Registers for constituencies 8. Registers for local government

areas 8A. Form of register 9. Preparation of electors’ list 9A. Form of electors’ list

10. Claims 11. Publication of list of claimants 12. Objections 13. Deposit by objector 14. Notice of objections 15. Publication of objections to lists 16. Publication of objections to claims 17. Consideration of objections 18. Consideration of claims 19. Supplemental powers 20. Correction of lists 21. Objections to corrections 22. Additional officers 23. List of deaths 24. Compilation of lists into register 25. Publication of registers 26. Where fresh registers not prepared

27. Publication of documents 28. Supply of forms 29. Supply of copies 30. Mode of sending notices 31. Duty to give information 32. Duty of public officers and local

bodies 33. Hearing of claims and objections 34. Power to require evidence on oath 35. Misnomer or inaccurate descrip-

tion 36. Appeals 36A. Omissions in register 37. Rules of Court 38. Expenses of registration 39. Variation of dates PART III – ELECTIONS 40. Vacancies in Assembly 41. Writs for election of new Parlia-

ment 42. Writ where election declared invalid 43. Multiple candidature unlawful 44. Regulations for conduct of elec-

tions 45. Election petition and security for

costs 46. Trial of election petition 47. Rules of Court 48. Non-compliance with Act 48A. Appeal PART IV – ELECTION EXPENSES 49. Election agents and sub-agents 50. Contracts and payment of ex-

penses 51. Authorised amount of election

expenditure 52. Who may incur election expendi-

ture 53. Expenditure incurred by candidate

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SECTION 54. Expenditure by authorised person 55. Consequences of unauthorised

expenditure 56. Return by election agent 57. Claim and payment for election

expenses PART V – ELECTION OFFENCES 58. Illegal payment 59. Corrupt withdrawal of candidature 60. — 61. Illegal hiring 62. — 63. Penalty for illegal payment or hiring 64. Bribery and treating 65. Undue influence 66. Penalty for offences against

sections 64 and 65 67. Personation 68. Penalty for personation 69. Disqualification on conviction 70. Illegal practice 71. Offences in respect of ballot boxes 72. Duty of secrecy

72A.Preservation of order 73. Offences by election officers 74. Consequences of illegal practice 74A.Powers of Court 74B.Granting of relief by Supreme

Court PART VI – GENERAL 75. Conclusiveness of register of

electors 76. Returning officer presiding at

polling station 77. International Election Observers 78. Clerk may act for presiding officer 79. Candidates may act in person 80. Expenses of returning officer 81. Payment of expenses by local

bodies 82. Allowances to members of

Commission 83. Exemption from stamp and

registration duties 84. Removal of difficulties 85. Regulations



REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE ACT

PART I – PRELIMINARY

1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the Representation of the People Act.

2. Interpretation

In this Act—

“candidate” means a person who is nominated as a candidate for election;

“city” has the same meaning as in the Local Government Act;

“Commission” means the Electoral Supervisory Commission appointed under section 38 (2) of the Constitution;

“constituency” means a constituency established under section 39 of the Constitution;

“constituency register” means a register compiled under section 7 (1);

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“council” means the Assembly, the Rodrigues Regional Assembly, a Municipal City Council, a Municipal Town Council or a Village Council;

“Court” means the Supreme Court;

“directing clerk” means an election officer appointed for the purpose of assisting the returning officer in maintaining order at a polling station;

“election” means an election for the purpose of electing a member of a council;

“election expenses” means expenses incurred by a candidate, whether before, during or after an election, on account or in respect of his candi- dature and the conduct or management of the election;

“election officer” includes a returning officer, presiding officer, clerk, or other person having a duty to perform under this Act;

“electoral area” means a constituency or a local government area;

“Electoral Commissioner” means the person appointed as Electoral Commissioner under section 40 of the Constitution;

“electors’ list” means the list prepared under section 9 (1) (b);

“International Election Observer” means a person who is a member of a mission deployed to Mauritius by an international or regional organisa- tion for the purposes of observing the conduct of an election process in Mauritius;

“local government area” means a ward or a village or a local region of Rodrigues as defined in the Rodrigues Regional Assembly Act;

“local government election” means the election of members of a Munici- pal City Council, a Municipal Town Council or a Village Council;

“local government elector” means a person registered as an elector under section 8 (1);

“member” means a member of the council concerned;

“Municipal City Council” has the same meaning as in the Local Govern- ment Act;

“Municipal Town Council” has the same meaning as in the Local Gov- ernment Act;

“office”, in sections 45 (1) (c) and 51 (2) (c), means—

(a) an office, appointment to which is made under section 32, 59, 66, 69 or 73 of the Constitution; or

(b) an office of member of a local authority;

“party” means a political party registered as such under paragraph 2 (1) of the First Schedule to the Constitution;

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“poll clerk” means a person appointed to assist a presiding officer at the taking of a poll;

“polling agent” means a person appointed by a candidate in the pre- scribed manner for the purpose of detecting personation;

“qualification” means the qualification of a candidate for election to a council or of an elector, as the case may be;

“register” means the register of electors for an electoral area;

“Rodrigues Regional Assembly elector” means a person registered as an elector in any of the local regions established under the provisions of the Rodrigues Regional Assembly Act;

“service elector” means a person who, on the date prescribed under section 4A (1)—

(a) (i) holds the office of Ambassador, High Commissioner or oth- er Permanent Representative of Mauritius; or

(ii) is a public officer required to perform duties on behalf of the Government under a person specified in subpara- graph (i), who is absent from Mauritius for the purpose of taking up his office or performing his duties; or

(b) is a member of the family of a person specified in paragraph (a) and forms part of his household;

“town” has the same meaning as in the Local Government Act 2011;

“village” has the same meaning as in the Local Government Act;

“village council election” means the election of members of a village council;

“ward” means an electoral ward under section 11 of the Local Govern- ment Act 2011.

[S. 2 amended by s. 76 (a) of Act 39 of 2001 w.e.f. 18 January 2002; s. 146 (8) (a) of Act 32 of 2003 w.e.f. 1 December 2003; s. 3 of Act 6 of 2005 w.e.f. 8 April 2005; s. 7 (a) of Act 23 of 2005 w.e.f. 18 August 2005; s. 165 (16) (a) of Act 36 of 2011 w.e.f. 15 December 2011.]

2A. Local government elections

The Commission shall have general responsibility for, and shall supervise, the registration of electors for local government areas and the conduct of elections of members of local authorities.

2B. Rodrigues Regional Assembly election

The Commission shall have general responsibility for, and shall supervise, the registration of electors for local region areas in Rodrigues and the con- duct of election of members of the Rodrigues Regional Assembly.

[S. 2B inserted by s. 76 (b) of Act 39 of 2001 w.e.f. 18 January 2002.]

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3. Electoral Commissioner and his deputy

(1) The Electoral Commissioner shall have all the powers of the registra- tion officer and of the returning officer in an electoral area.

(2) There may be appointed a barrister at law to be Deputy Electoral Commissioner for an electoral area.

(3) Subject to the authority, directions and control of the Electoral Com- missioner, the Deputy Electoral Commissioner shall have all the powers and may perform any of the functions of the Electoral Commissioner in the elec- toral area or areas for which he is appointed.

(4) Every appointment made under this section shall be published in the Gazette.

(5) (a) The Electoral Commissioner shall ensure that the register of elec- tors is prepared and the elections are conducted in an electoral area in accordance with this Act.

(b) For the purposes specified in paragraph (a), the Electoral Com- missioner may—

(i) require information from an officer appointed under this Act with respect to any matter relating to the functions of the officer; and

(ii) subject to this Act, issue general instructions to an officer with respect to the performance of his duties.

(c) Every officer shall comply with the requirements and instructions of the Electoral Commissioner.

PART II – REGISTRATION OF ELECTORS

4. Compilation of registers

(1) Every year there shall be compiled for every electoral area a register of persons entitled to be registered as electors for that electoral area.

(2) No person shall be registered as an elector in any year unless he has attained or will have attained the age of 18 on 15 August in that year.

(3) Every register compiled in a year shall, subject to section 39, come into force on 16 August in that year and shall remain in force until the register next compiled comes into force.

4A. Residence qualification

(1) Subject to subsection (2), for the purposes of section 42 (1) (b) and (2) (b) of the Constitution, section 5 (1) of the Rodrigues Regional Assembly Act and section 20 of the Local Government Act, the qualifying date for the purpose of determining the residence of any person shall, in re- spect of the register to be compiled in a year, be 1 January in that year.

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(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) and of section 33 (c) of the Con- stitution, a service elector shall be deemed to be resident at the address specified in the declaration made by him under section 10 (5).

[S. 4A amended by s. 76 (c) of Act 39 of 2001 w.e.f. 18 January 2002; s. 146 (8) (b) of Act 32 of 2003 w.e.f. 22 August 2003; s. 7 (b) of Act 23 of 2005 w.e.f. 18 August 2005;

s. 165 (16) (b) of Act 36 of 2011 w.e.f. 15 December 2011.]

5. Registration officers

(1) There shall be appointed for every constituency a fit and proper per- son to be registration officer and such other fit and proper persons to be assistant registration officers.

(2) Subject to the authority, directions and control of the registration officer, a person appointed under subsection (1) as assistant registration officer shall have all the powers and may perform any of the duties of a reg- istration officer under this Act.

(3) Every appointment made under this section shall be published in the Gazette.

6. Registration office

(1) The registration officer for every constituency shall appoint, in respect of that constituency, such registration office as he thinks fit and may, in addi- tion, operate such mobile registration units as he considers necessary.

(2) (a) A place appointed as a registration office of a constituency shall as far as practicable be within that constituency.

(b) The registration officer for a constituency may appoint a registra- tion office or operate a mobile unit at a place not within that constituency.

(3) The Commissioner of Police shall, in consultation with the registration officer, take all necessary measures for the maintenance of order in and around the registration office and for preventing the assembly of crowds in the vicinity.

6A. Registration areas

(1) The Electoral Commissioner may, by notice published in the Gazette, appoint for each constituency such registration areas as he thinks necessary.

(2) A registration area shall be sufficiently described by enumerating the inhabited areas comprised in it.

7. Registers for constituencies

(1) For the purposes of section 4 (1), the registration officer for every constituency shall compile the register of persons entitled to be registered as electors in the constituency in accordance with this Part.

(2) There shall be a separate part of the constituency register for each registration area of the constituency.

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8. Registers for local government areas

(1) For the purposes of section 4 (1), the Electoral Commissioner shall compile for every local government area the register of the register of persons entitled to be registered as electors in that area in accordance with this Part.

(2) (a) Where a registration area of a constituency comprises a part of a local government area, the registration officer for the constituency shall pre- pare, in respect of the registration area, a list of local government electors or Rodrigues Regional Assembly electors, as the case may be, for that part of the local government area.

(b) A list of local government electors or Rodrigues Regional Assembly electors, as the case may be, under paragraph (a) shall include every person who—

(i) where the local government area is a ward— (A) is entitled, under section 20 of the Local Government Act, to

be registered as an elector for elections held under sec- tion 11 of that Act in respect of the ward; and

(B) is a resident of, or has any other qualification under sec- tion 20 of the Local Government Act in respect of, the part of the ward which is comprised in the registration area;

(ii) where the local government area is a village— (A) is entitled, under section 20 of the Local Government Act,

to be registered as an elector for the election of members of the village council; and

(B) is a resident of, or has any other qualification under sec- tion 20 of the Local Government Act in respect of, the part of the village which is comprised in the registration area.

(c) A list of Rodrigues Regional Assembly electors under para- graph (a) shall include every person who is entitled, under section 5 of the Rodrigues Regional Assembly Act, to be registered as an elector for the elec- tion of members of the local region.

(3) The register for a local government area under subsection (1) shall—

(a) where the local government area is comprised in a single regis- tration area, consist of the list of local government electors or Rodrigues Regional Assembly electors, as the case may be, pre- pared under subsection (2) for that registration area; and

(b) where the local government area is comprised in different registra- tion areas, be made up of the lists of local government electors or Rodrigues Regional Assembly electors, as the case may be, pre- pared under subsection (2) for these registration areas, and each of these lists shall constitute a separate part of the register.

[S. 8 amended by s. 76 (d) of Act 39 of 2001 w.e.f. 18 January 2002; s. 146 (8) (c) of Act 32 of 2003 w.e.f. 22 August 2003; s. 7 (c) of Act 23 of 2005 w.e.f. 18 August 2005;

s. 165 (16) (c) of Act 36 of 2011 w.e.f. 15 December 2011.]

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8A. Form of register

(1) Every part of a register shall be as set out in Form A of the Schedule.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), the names in each part of the register shall—

(a) be classified in alphabetical order or in such other manner or order as may be prescribed; and

(b) as far as is reasonably practicable, be numbered consecutively.

(3) —

(4) There shall be a distinguishing letter for each part of a register and the distinguishing letter shall form part of the elector’s number in the register.

[S. 8A amended by s. 165 (16) (d) of Act 36 of 2011 w.e.f. 15 December 2011.]

9. Preparation of electors’ list

(1) In compiling the registers under section 7, the registration officer—

(a) shall, as far as possible, have a house-to-house or other suffi- cient inquiry made as to the persons entitled to be registered as electors in his constituency and for this purpose may by himself or by any of his assistants—

(i) require any householder or any person owning or occupying premises within his constituency to complete a return in the manner set out in Form B of the Schedule; and

(ii) require any person named in the return to subscribe a dec- laration of his qualification in the manner set out in Form C of the Schedule; and

(b) shall prepare or cause to be prepared a list of all persons who appear to him, from the information obtained in the inquiry under paragraph (a) or from any other information in his possession, to be qualified to be qualified to be registered as electors in his constituency, and shall publish the list as soon as possible and in any event not later than 16 May in any year.

(2) Any person who fails to complete a return under this section or know- ingly gives information which is false in any material particular shall commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding 500 rupees.

[S. 9 amended by GN 10 of 1996.]

9A. Form of electors’ list

(1) The electors’ list shall be published in the form in which the register is to be framed and shall consist of as many parts as there are registration areas in the constituency.

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(2) Each part shall include 2 sections, namely—

(a) section A, which shall consist of a copy of the part of the regis- ter in force relating to the registration area, with the deletion of the names of all persons who appear to the registration officer to be no longer qualified to be registered as electors in that regis- tration area;

(b) section B, which shall include the names of every person who has subscribed the declaration under section 9, unless it appears to the registration officer that person is not qualified to be regis- tered as an elector in the registration area to which the part of the electors’ list relates.

(3) Each part of the electors’ list may, if the Commission thinks neces- sary, consist of only one section which shall include the names of all persons who appear to the registration officer to be qualified to be registered in the registration area to which that part of the electors’ list relates.

(4) Section A of the electors’ list shall be published at the office of the registration officer and at such other places as the Commission may, by no- tice published in the Gazette and in 3 daily newspapers, appoint.

10. Claims

(1) (a) A person, in this Act referred to as a “claimant”, who—

(i) claims to be entitled to be registered as an elector and is not al- ready entered on the electors’ list for the electoral area in which he claims to be registered;

(ii) being entered on the electors’ list, does not have the same quali- fications as described in the list; or

(iii) is, in any other manner, incorrectly entered on the electors’ list, may, between 16 May and 30 May in every year, appear before the registration officer of the constituency in which he claims to be registered as an elector and present his claim to be registered or to be correctly registered in the manner set out in Form D or Form E, as the case may be, of the Schedule.

(b) At the time of the publication of the electors’ list—

(i) the registration officer shall cause a notice in the manner set out in Form F of the Schedule to be published in the Gazette inform- ing all persons in his constituency of paragraph (a) and shall affix copies of the notice at conspicuous places in his constituency; and

(ii) the Electoral Commissioner shall give further notice of para- graph (a) by publication in at least 3 daily newspapers.

(2) (a) A claimant shall, in the presence of the registration officer receiv- ing the claim, sign and date his claim which shall also be signed by the regis- tration officer.

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(b) Where a claimant is incapacitated or declares that he cannot read or write, the registration officer shall require him to impress his thumb print on the registration form and the registration officer shall sign and date the form.

(c) Where, for a physical reason, the claimant cannot affix his thumb print, he may affix the print of another finger.

(d) Where, for a physical reason, a claimant cannot affix the print of any finger, the registration officer shall insert a note to that effect on the registration form.

(3) The registration officer, when receiving claims under this section, shall not allow to be present inside his office any person other than the offi- cers connected with the procedure for registration, the claimant and one of his relatives and his Counsel or attorney and such other members of the pub- lic as can be accommodated in the public gallery.

(4) (a) Subject to paragraph (b), a claimant who, knowingly makes a statement which is false in any material particular advanced by him, shall commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding 500 rupees and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months.

(b) Where the false statement has been made on oath, the person making it shall be liable to the penalty provided under section 195 of the Courts Act, for the offence of swearing a false affidavit.

(5) (a) A service elector who claims to be entitled to be registered in any year shall, not later than 30 May in that year, make a declaration by sending to the Electoral Commissioner a notice in Form G of the Schedule.

(b) The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry responsible for the sub- ject of external affairs shall, not later than 30 May in every year, give written notice to the Electoral Commissioner of the name of every person who—

(i) is entitled to be registered as a service elector; or

(ii) has ceased to be so entitled. [S. 10 amended by GN 10 of 1996.]

11. Publication of list of claimants

The registration officer shall publish the list of claimants not later than 10 June in every year.

[S. 11 amended by GN 10 of 1996.]

12. Objections

(1) A person whose name appears on an electors’ list or on a list of claimants may object to the registration of a person as an elector for the same constituency or for the same local government area as that in respect of which the objector’s name appears in the electors’ list or the list of claim- ants in the manner provided under subsection (2).

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(2) (a) An objection to the registration of a person whose name is in- cluded in the electors’ list shall be made by sending notice of the objection in Form H of the Schedule, or such other form as may be prescribed, to the registration officer not later than 21 May.

(b) An objection to the registration of a person, whose name is in- cluded in the list of claimants shall be made by sending notice of the objec- tion in Form H of the Schedule to the registration officer not later than 16 June.

13. Deposit by objector

(1) A notice of objection under section 12 shall not be valid unless it is accompanied by a deposit of the sum of 10 rupees.

(2) Where, after considering the objection, and subject to an appeal being made from his decision, the registration officer—

(a) admits the objection, the deposit shall be returned to the objector;

(b) does not admit the objection, the deposit shall be—

(i) paid to the person objected to, if that person has appeared at the hearing of the objection; or

(iii) forfeited to the State if that person has not appeared. [S. 13 amended by Act 48 of 1991.]

14. Notice of objections

(1) The registration officer shall, as soon as practicable after receiving a valid notice of objection, cause a notice in the Form I of the Schedule to be served on the person in respect of whose registration the notice of objection is given.

(2) (a) The registration officer shall examine the electors’ list and the list of claimants with a view to ascertaining whether all the persons whose names appear on the electors’ list or on the list of claimants are qualified as electors.

(b) Where the registration officer has reason to believe that a person whose name appears on the electors’ list or list of claimants is not qualified as an elector, he shall cause a notice in Form I of the Schedule to be served on that person, calling upon him to show cause why his name should not be expunged.

15. Publication of objections to lists

The registration officer shall, not later than 24 May, publish a list of the names of persons included in the electors’ list in respect of whose registra- tion notice of objection has been given.

[S. 15 amended by GN 10 of 1996.]

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16. Publication of objections to claims

The registration officer shall, not later than 20 June, publish a list of the names of persons included in the list of claimants in respect of whose regis- tration notice of objection has been given.

[S. 16 amended by GN 10 of 1996.]

17. Consideration of objections

(1) The registration officer shall, as soon as practicable, consider all ob- jections of which notice has been given to him in accordance with this Part and, for that purpose, shall give at least 5 clear days’ notice to the objector and to the person in respect of whose registration the notice of objection has been given, of the time and place at which the objection will be considered by him.

(2) In all proceedings for the consideration of claims and objection by the registration officer, the law and rules of evidence to be complied with shall be the same as in civil cases before a Magistrate, and the practice and pro- cedure shall as nearly as may be conform to the practice and procedure on the hearing of such cases, and the registration officer shall have the same powers, jurisdiction and authority (including the power to administer an oath or affirmation) as a Magistrate in such cases.

(3) Any person who makes a false statement on oath or affirmation in any proceedings for the consideration of claims and objections by the regis- tration officer shall commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to the penalty provided by section 195 of the Courts Act for the offence of swearing a false affidavit.

18. Consideration of claims

(1) Where the registration officer considers that a claim of which notice has been given to him in accordance with this Part and in respect of which no notice of objection has been given, may be allowed without further in- quiry, he shall enter the claimant’s name in the register compiled in accor- dance with section 24.

(2) Where the registration officer is not satisfied that any such claim can be allowed without inquiry, he shall consider the claim and in due course en- ter the claimant’s name in the register or, where he cannot accept the claim, give at least 5 clear days’ notice to the claimant of the time and place at which the claim will be considered by him.

19. Supplemental powers

Where, on consideration of any claim or objection, it appears to the regis- tration officer that the claimant, or person in respect of whose registration objection is taken, is not entitled to be entered on the register under the qualification in which he claims to be registered or in which he is entered on the list, but is entitled to be entered on the register under another qualifica- tion, the registration officer may decide that the name of that claimant or person shall be entered accordingly.

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20. Correction of lists

The registration officer shall make such additions to and corrections of the electors’ list and the list of claimants as are required to give effect to his decision on any objection or claim, and shall also make any such correction in those lists, whether by way of the removal of duplicate entries (subject to any expression of choice by the persons affected as to those entries), the expunging of the names of persons who are dead or subject to any legal in- capacity, the correction of clerical errors or otherwise, in order to ensure that no person is registered as an elector in respect of more than one qualification in the same electoral area and that the list will be complete and accurate as a register.

21. Objections to corrections

Where the registration officer makes a correction in the electors’ list or in the list of claimants, otherwise than in pursuance of a claim or objection, or for the purpose of correcting a clerical error, he shall give notice to the per- son affected by the correction, and give that person an opportunity of ob- jecting to the correction, and, if necessary, of being heard with respect to the correction.

22. Additional officers

(1) There shall be appointed such person as the Commission thinks fit to assist the registration officer in the performance of his duties under sec- tions 17 to 21.

(2) Any person appointed under subsection (1) shall, in the performance of his duties, have the same powers as the registration officer.

23. List of deaths

(1) The Registrar of Civil Status in Port Louis, and every civil status offi- cer in the other districts and in Rodrigues shall, not later than 20 June, fur- nish to every registration officer a statement of the names of all persons de- ceased whose names appear on the list of claimants or on the electors’ list published by the registration officer.

(2) On receipt of the statement, the registration officer shall, after inquiry if necessary, expunge the names of the deceased person from the lists.

[S. 23 amended by GN 10 of 1996.]

24. Compilation of lists into register

(1) The registration officer shall, not later than 2 July, decide all objec- tions and shall thereafter make all necessary corrections of the electors’ list and the list of claimants and do everything necessary to compile those lists so corrected into a register (with a separate series of numbers for each part of the register) in time to allow its publication on the day required by this Part.

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(2) (a) The registration officer shall sign and date the register and the register so dated and signed shall, subject to sections 4 (2) and 39, be the register in force.

(b) The register may be altered or corrected in conformity with any decision of the Court as provided in sections 36 and 36A.

[S. 24 amended by GN 10 of 1996.]

25. Publication of registers

(1) The Electoral Commissioner or the registration officer, as the case may be, shall, as soon as practicable after 15 July, and not later than 14 August, publish the registers by making a copy of them available for inspection by the public at his office and causing a notice to be affixed outside his office inform- ing the public that it is so available.

(2) The Electoral Commissioner or the registration officer, as the case may be, shall, on the application of any person during business hours and on pay- ment of the prescribed fee, furnish copies of the registers to the applicant.

[S. 25 amended by GN 10 of 1996.]

26. Where fresh registers not prepared

Where the Electoral Commissioner or the registration officer, as the case may be, fails to prepare a fresh register in accordance with this Act, the reg- ister in force at the time when the fresh register should have been prepared shall continue to operate until the fresh register has been prepared and pub- lished in accordance with section 25.

27. Publication of documents

(1) Where the Electoral Commissioner or the registration officer, as the case may be, is required under this Part to publish a document, and no spe- cific provision is made as to the mode of publication, he shall publish the document by making a copy available for inspection by the public at his of- fice, and, if he thinks fit, in any other manner which in his opinion may be desirable for the purpose of bringing the contents of the document to the notice of those interested.

(2) Failure to publish a document in accordance with this Part shall not invalidate the document.

(3) A person who without lawful authority, destroys, mutilates, defaces or removes any notice published in accordance with sections 25 (1) and 27 (1) by the Electoral Commissioner or the registration officer, as the case may be, in connection with his registration duties, or any copy of a docu- ment which has been made available for inspection under this Part, shall commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding 500 rupees.

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28. Supply of forms

The registration officer shall, without fee, on the application of any per- son, supply forms of claims and notices of objection.

29. Supply of copies

The registration officer shall, on the application of any person, allow him to inspect, and take extracts from, or, on payment of the prescribed fee, supply to him copies of the electors’ list, the list of claimants and of any claim or notice of objection made under this Part.

30. Mode of sending notices

(1) A notice of objection which is to be sent to the registration officer may be sent to him by registered post addressed to him at his office.

(2) (a) A notice which is required to be sent by the registration officer under this Part to any person shall be sufficiently sent if sent by registered post to the address of that person as given by him for the purpose, or as ap- pearing on the electors’ list or list of claimants, or, if there is no such ad- dress, to his last known place of abode.

(b) The registration officer shall, as conveniently as may be possible, make arrangements with the Postmaster-General to ensure that such notices are delivered to the persons to whom they are addressed at a time when they are most likely to be present at their place of abode.

(3) A person to whom a registered letter is addressed and tendered and who neglects or refuses forthwith to sign a receipt presented to him together with such letter, or, where he is unable to write, to affix his cross to such receipt, shall commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding 50 rupees.

(4) Where a registered letter is addressed to a person whose name is sought to be expunged from the electors’ list or from the list of claimants and the return of the Post Office shows that the person cannot be found, notice shall be deemed to have been sufficiently given by affixing certified copies of the registered letter in a conspicuous place at his last known place of abode, outside a District Court House in the electoral area in which the notice shall be given and at such other places in the area as may be neces- sary at least 3 days before the day of revision.

31. Duty to give information

(1) The registration officer may require an employer, a house holder, or a person owning or occupying land or premises within the constituency for which he has been appointed, or the agent of that person, to give any infor- mation in his possession which the registration officer may require for the purpose of his duties as registration officer.

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(2) Any person who fails to give the required information, or knowingly gives information which is false in any material particular, shall commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding 200 rupees.

(3) A notice requiring information under subsection (1) shall be sent by registered post.

32. Duty of public officers and local bodies

All public officers (other than those who are prohibited by law from furnish- ing information) and all local authorities shall furnish to the registration officer or any person appointed by the registration officer any information which the registration officer may require to enable him to revise the register.

33. Hearing of claims and objections

On the consideration by the registration officer of any claim or objection or other matter, the claimant, the objector or person objected to may appear and be heard either in person or by Counsel or attorney on his behalf.

34. Power to require evidence on oath

The registration officer may, at the request of a person interested or, if he thinks fit, without such a request, on the consideration of any claim or objec- tion or other matter, make such order as he thinks just for ascertaining if a person is duly qualified for registration as an elector and may, for that pur- pose, examine that person or other witnesses on oath or affirmation, call for the production of books and other papers or documents, and make local inspections.

35. Misnomer or inaccurate description

No misnomer or inaccurate description of a person or place on a list, reg- ister or notice shall prejudice the operation of this Act as respects that per- son or place where the person or place is so designated as to be commonly understood.

36. Appeals

(1) Subject to this Act, an appeal shall lie to a Judge in Chambers in va- cation, or, in term time, to the Court from a decision of a registration officer on a claim or objection which has been considered by him under this Act.

(2) No appeal shall lie where a claimant or objector has not availed him- self of the opportunity, as provided in this Act, of being heard by the regis- tration officer on the claim or objection.

(3) A claimant or objector desiring to appeal against the decision of a reg- istration officer shall give written notice of appeal to the registration officer and to any opposite party within 5 days after the decision, specifying the grounds of appeal.

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(4) The registration officer shall immediately forward the notice to the Registrar of the Court together with a statement of the material facts which, in his opinion, have been established in the case, and of his decision upon the whole case and upon any point which may be specified as a ground of appeal, and shall also furnish to the Court or Judge any further information which the Court or Judge may require and which he is able to furnish.

(5) Where it appears to the registration officer that 2 or more notices of appeal given to him are based on similar grounds, he shall inform the Regis- trar of the Court of the fact for the purposes of enabling the Court or Judge, if the Court or Judge thinks fit, to consolidate the appeals or to select a case as a test case.

(6) On any appeal under this section, the registration officer shall be a party to the proceedings if there is no other respondent.

(7) The right of a person whose name is for the time being on the regis- ter to vote at an election shall not be prejudiced by an appeal pending under this section, and a vote given at an election in pursuance of that right shall be as valid and effective as if no such appeal were pending, and shall not be affected by the subsequent decision of the appeal.

(8) Notice shall be sent to the registration officer by the Registrar of the Court of the decision of the Court or Judge on an appeal under this section, and the registration officer shall make such alterations in the electors’ list or the register, as the case may be, as may be required to give effect to the decision.

(9) (a) The jurisdiction vested in the Court or a Judge, and any duty im- posed upon the Registrar of the Court, by this section shall, in Rodrigues, vest in the Magistrate appointed for the purpose and be performed by the district clerk of the Court of Rodrigues respectively.

(b) A decision of the Magistrate in the exercise of his jurisdiction un- der this subsection shall be final and not subject to appeal.

36A. Omissions in register

(1) The Court may order the insertion in the register of the name of a person which has been omitted from it, on application made by way of mo- tion in that behalf by that person or, ex parte, by the Electoral Commissioner.

(2) (a) The power vested in the Court and the right conferred upon the Electoral Commissioner under this section shall, in Rodrigues, vest in the Magistrate appointed for the purposes of section 36 and be exercised by the registration officer respectively.

(b) The Magistrate so appointed may make Rules of Court for regu- lating the practice and procedure in respect of applications made to him by way of motion under this section.

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37. Rules of Court

(1) The Judges of the Court and the Magistrate appointed for the pur- poses of section 36 may make Rules of Court for regulating the practice and procedure in respect of appeals under this Part.

(2) Costs shall not be awarded against a registration officer.

38. Expenses of registration

Expenses properly incurred by a registration officer in the performance of his duties in relation to registration shall be paid to the registration officer from the Consolidated Fund.

39. Variation of dates

(1) (a) The Commission may, by Order, vary any date mentioned in this Part except the dates specified in sections 4 (2) and 4A (1), and may substi- tute other dates for them.

(b) An Order made under paragraph (a) may be made either generally or in respect of a particular electoral area.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), where the Commission is satisfied, as respects an election, that it is necessary or expe- dient to vary the dates mentioned in this Part for the preparation, publication or coming into force of the register of electors for that election, it may, by Order, direct that this Part, except sections 4 (2) and 4A (1), relating to the time at or within which anything must be done in connection with the prepa- ration and publication of any such register or relating to the date of coming into force of any such register, shall have effect subject to such modifica- tions as may be specified in the Order, and may postpone or shorten or ex- tend or otherwise alter any such time or date notwithstanding that it has elapsed or expired.

PART III – ELECTIONS

40. Vacancies in Assembly

Where the seat of a member of the Assembly becomes vacant otherwise than by a dissolution of Parliament under section 57 of the Constitution, the Speaker or, where the office of Speaker is vacant or he is for any reason un- able to perform the functions of his office, the Deputy Speaker, shall give written notice—

(a) in the case of a vacancy under section 42, to the President and the Commission within 15 days of being notified of the vacancy by the Registrar of the Court;

(b) in the case of any other vacancy, to the Commission within 15 days of the occurrence of the vacancy.

[S. 40 amended by Act 48 of 1991.]

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41. Writs for election of new Parliament

(1) (a) The President, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister, shall, for the purpose of electing a new Parliament, not later than 55 days after a dissolution of Parliament under section 57 of the Constitution—

(i) issue a writ of election directed to the returning officer of every constituency in Form J of the Schedule; and

(ii) by notice to the Commission, appoint the day on which, if it be- comes necessary to adjourn the election for the taking of a poll, the poll is to be taken.

(b) Every writ of election shall—

(i) subject to paragraph (c), specify— (A) the place of election; and

(B) the day of election; and

(ii) be forwarded to the Electoral Commissioner for transmission to the returning officer.

(c) The writs of election for all the constituencies shall be dated on the same day and shall specify the same day of election under paragraph (b).

(2) The day of election appointed under subsection (1) (b) shall be not less than 15 nor more than 30 days after the day on which the writ is is- sued, and the day on which a poll is to be taken shall be not less than 15 nor more than 60 days after the day on which the nomination of candidates for the election is received.

(3) Where, on the day of election or at any time thereafter until the day on which the poll is to be taken, being days appointed under subsec- tion (1) (b), no candidate has been nominated or the number of candidates remaining nominated is less than, or is reduced to a number less than, the number of seats to be filled, an election shall be held for the purpose of fill- ing any seat that is unfilled—

(a) on such day of election; or

(b) on such day on which, if it becomes necessary to adjourn the election for the taking of a poll, the poll is to be taken,

as may be determined by the person appointed to conduct the election. [S. 41 amended by Act 54 of 1985; Act 48 of 1991.]

42. Writ where election declared invalid

(1) Where, pursuant to a petition presented under section 45, a person who has been returned to represent a constituency is declared to have been unduly returned or elected, the Registrar of the Court shall, as soon as rea- sonably practicable, give written notice to the Speaker of—

(a) the decision of the Court in the matter; and

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(b) where an appeal is made against the decision of the Court— (i) the appeal; and (ii) the result of the proceedings on appeal.

(2) The President, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Min- ister, shall, within 55 days of being notified under section 40 (a) of the oc- currence of a vacancy, issue a writ of election for the purpose of electing a member in the place of the person who has been declared to have been un- duly returned or elected.

(3) Section 41 (1) (a) and (b) shall apply to an election held under sub- section (2).

[S. 42 amended by Act 48 of 1991.]

43. Multiple candidature unlawful

No person shall stand as a candidate for election to the Assembly—

(a) in more than one constituency at one and the same election; or

(b) in any one constituency while being already a member of the Assembly representing another constituency.

[S. 43 amended by Act 54 of 1985.]

44. Regulations for conduct of elections

Elections to a council shall be conducted in such manner as may be prescribed.

[S. 44 amended by Act 60 of 1985; Act 24 of 1988.]

45. Election petition and security for costs

(1) (a) Subject to paragraph (b), a petition (in this Act referred to as an “election petition”) complaining of an undue election of a member to service in a council on the ground that—

(i) the person whose election is questioned was not qualified or was disqualified at the time of the election; or

(ii) the election was avoided by reason of bribery, treating, undue influence, illegal practice, irregularity, or any reason,

may be presented to a Judge in Chambers by—

(A) a person who voted or had the right to vote at the election to which the petition relates;

(B) a person who claims to have had a right to be returned or elected at the election to which the petition relates; or

(C) a person who alleges he was a candidate at the election to which the petition relates.

(b) Nothing in this Act shall authorise the presentation of an election petition on the ground that a candidate other than the person whose election is questioned was not qualified or was disqualified for election.

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(c) Notwithstanding this Act or any other enactment, an election pe- tition shall not be presented against a member and the return or election of a member shall not be avoided on the ground that, in connection with, or in furtherance of, his candidature or for his return or election—

(i) an act was done, services were rendered or expenditure was incurred by a public officer, a local government officer or an offi- cer of a statutory corporation where the act was done, the ser- vices were rendered or the expenditure was incurred either in the discharge or purported discharge of the officer’s function or while the member was the holder of an office; or

(ii) an act was done, services were rendered or expenditure was incurred by the member where the act was done, the services were rendered or the expenditure was incurred while the mem- ber was the holder of an office.

(2) On the presentation of an election petition—

(a) the petition shall be signed by the petitioner, or all petitioners if more than one, and shall be presented to a Judge in Chambers who shall fix a day on which the Court shall hear the petition;

(b) the petition shall be heard and determined by a Court consisting of at least 2 Judges;

(c) the petition shall be presented within 21 days or, in the case of Rodrigues, 56 days after the date of the return made by the re- turning officer to the Commission of the member to whose elec- tion the petition relates, unless it questions the return or election upon an allegation of illegal practice and specifically alleges a payment of money or some other act to have been made or done since the date of such return by the member, or an agent of the member or with the privity of the member or his election agent in pursuance or in furtherance of the illegal practice alleged in the petition, in which case the petition may be presented at any time within 28 days or, in the case of Rodrigues, 70 days after the date of such payment or other act;

(d) at the time of the presentation of the petition or not later than 3 days thereafter, security for the payment of all costs, charges and expenses that may become payable by the petitioner—

(i) to any person summoned as a witness on his behalf; or (ii) to the member whose election or return is complained of, or

to any other person named as a respondent in the petition,

shall be given on behalf of the petitioner; and

(e) the security shall be of an amount of 10,000 rupees and shall be given by recognisance to be entered into before the Master and Registrar by any number of sureties, not exceeding 4, approved by him, or by a deposit of money in the Registry of the Court or partly in one way and partly in the other.

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46. Trial of election petition

(1) During the trial of an election petition the Court may order—

(a) the production and inspection of a rejected ballot paper;

(b) the inspection of a counted ballot paper; or

(c) the opening of a sealed packet of counterfoils of used ballot papers.

(2) In making and carrying into effect an order under subsection (1), the Court shall ensure that the way in which the vote of any person has been given shall not be disclosed until it has been proved that the vote was given and the vote has been declared by the Court to be invalid.

(3) No person who has voted at an election shall, in any legal proceeding to question the election or return, be required to state for whom he has voted.

47. Rules of Court

Subject to this Act, rules as to the practice and procedure for the service and hearing of election petitions or any connected matters and as to the practice and procedure in respect of any application made to the Court under regulations made for the conduct of elections to the Assembly may be made in like manner as rules under the Courts Act.

48. Non-compliance with Act

Subject to provisions in respect of Assembly elections, no election shall be invalid by reason of non-compliance with this Act or any other enactment, where it appears that the election was conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in any other enactment and that such non-compliance did not affect the result of the election.

48A. Appeal

An appeal shall lie to the Judicial Committee as of right from a decision of the Court under section 45, on an election petition complaining of an undue return or undue election of a member to serve in the Assembly.

[S. 48A amended by Act 48 of 1991.]

PART IV – ELECTION EXPENSES

49. Election agents and sub-agents

(1) On or before the day fixed for an election, each candidate or prospec- tive candidate shall, by notice in writing given to the returning officer, ap- point either himself or some other person as his election agent and specify an address within the electoral area to which all claims, notices, writs, sum- monses and documents addressed to the candidate or to his agent, may be sent, and the returning officer shall forthwith give public notice of the name and address of every election agent so appointed.

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(2) A candidate may, by notice in writing given to the returning officer, revoke the appointment of his election agent, and, in the event of such revo- cation or of the death of the agent, whether such event is before, during or after the election, forthwith appoint another election agent and give written notice of his name and address to the returning officer who shall forthwith give public notice thereof.

(3) (a) An election agent appointed under subsection (1) may act in rela- tion to any matter required to be done in a polling station by sub-agents appointed by him for that station, and anything done for the purposes of this Act by or to any of the sub-agents in his electoral area shall be deemed to be done by or to the election agent, and any act or default of a sub-agent, which, if he were the election agent, would be an illegal practice or other offence under this Act shall be an illegal practice or other offence under this Act committed by the sub-agent, and the sub-agent shall be liable to pun- ishment accordingly.

(b) A candidate shall suffer the like incapacity, as if the act or default referred to in paragraph (a) had been the act or default of the election agent unless he proves that he had no knowledge of that act or default.

(4) Not later than 2 clear days before the poll the election agent shall declare in writing the name and address of every sub-agent to the returning officer, who shall forthwith give public notice thereof.

(5) The appointment of a sub-agent shall not be vacated by the election agent who appointed him ceasing to be election agent, but may be revoked by the election agent of the candidate, and, in the event of such revocation, or of death of a sub-agent, another sub-agent may be appointed, and notice of his name and address shall forthwith be given in writing to the returning officer, who shall forthwith give public notice thereof.

(6) A document delivered at the address specified in the notice referred to in subsection (1) shall be deemed to have been duly served on the election agent and every election agent may, in respect of any matter connected with the election for which he is acting, be sued in any competent Court.

50. Contracts and payment of expenses

(1) The election agent of a candidate shall appoint every sub-agent, clerk and messenger employed for payment on behalf of the candidate at an elec- tion, and hire every committee room hired on behalf of the candidate.

(2) A contract whereby any expenses are incurred on account of, or in respect of, the conduct or management of an election shall not be enforceable against a candidate at the election unless made by the candidate himself, or by his election agent either by himself or by his sub-agent.

(3) (a) Except as permitted by this Act, no payment, advance or deposit shall be made by a candidate at an election, or by an agent on behalf of the candidate, or by any other person, whether before, during, or after the

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election, in respect of expenses incurred on account of, or in respect of the conduct or management of the election, otherwise than by or through the election agent of the candidate, whether acting in person or by a sub-agent.

(b) All moneys provided by a person other than the candidate for any expenses incurred on account of, or in respect of, the conduct or man- agement of the election, whether as gift, loan, advance, or deposit, shall be paid to the candidate or his election agent and not otherwise.

(c) This subsection shall not apply to a tender of security to, or any payment by, the returning officer or to any sum disbursed by a person out of his own money for any small expenses legally incurred by himself, if such sum is not repaid to him.

(4) Any person who contravenes subsection (3) shall be guilty of an ille- gal practice.

[S. 50 amended by Act 23 of 1989.]

51. Authorised amount of election expenditure

(1) (a) Subject to subsection (2), no election expenses shall be incurred, and no sum shall be paid, in respect of a candidature in excess of the amount specified in paragraph (b).

(b) The maximum amount of election expenses to be incurred in re- spect of a candidature shall be—

(i) in respect of a National Assembly election— (A) where the candidate does not belong to a party, or where

there is no other candidate belonging to the same party at the election in a constituency, 250,000 rupees;

(B) where the candidate is not the only candidate belonging to a party at the election in the constituency, 150,000 rupees;

(ii) in respect of a Municipal City Council, Municipal Town Council or Village Council election, 50,000 rupees;

(iii) in respect of a local region election or an Island region election in Rodrigues, 100,000 rupees.

(2) In determining the total expenditure incurred in relation to the candi- dature of a person at an election, regard shall not be had to—

(a) a deposit required to be made by the candidate on his nomina- tion in compliance with regulations made under this Act;

(b) expenditure incurred before the notification of the date fixed for the election in respect of services rendered or materials supplied before such notification; or

(c) (i) any act done, services rendered or expenditure incurred by a public officer, a local government officer or an officer of a statutory corporation in the discharge or purported dis- charge of the officer’s functions while that person was the holder of an office; or

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(ii) any act done, services rendered or expenditure incurred by that person while he was the holder of an office.

[S. 51 amended by Act 54 of 1985; Act 23 of 1989; Act 48 of 1991; s. 76 (f) of Act 39 of 2001 w.e.f. 18 January 2002; s. 165 (16) (e) of Act 36 of 2011 w.e.f. 15 December 2011.]

52. Who may incur election expenditure

No expenditure shall be incurred in respect of the candidature of a person at an election except by the candidate, his agent or a person authorised in writing by the agent.

53. Expenditure incurred by candidate

(1) No payment shall be made by any candidate to a person other than his agent in connection with his candidature at an election except—

(a) expenditure for the candidate’s personal living expenses during the period of the election to an amount not exceeding 25,000 rupees; and

(b) petty expenditure to an amount not exceeding 2,500 rupees.

(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply to a candidate who is his own official agent.

[S. 53 amended by Act 23 of 1989.]

54. Expenditure by authorised person

No expenditure shall be incurred, in respect of the candidature of a candidate at an election, by a person authorised in writing by the agent of the candidate, in excess of the amount specified in the authorisation.

55. Consequences of unauthorised expenditure

(1) Subject to subsection (2) where any expenditure is incurred in contravention of section 51, 52, 53 or 54, the person by whom the expenditure was incurred and the candidate in connection with whose candidature it was incurred shall be deemed to be guilty of an illegal practice.

(2) A candidate shall not be guilty of an illegal practice by reason of any other person having incurred any expenditure in connection with his candidature in contravention of section 51, 52 or 54 unless it is proved that the expenditure was incurred with his consent.

[S. 55 amended by Act 23 of 1989.]

56. Return by election agent

(1) Within 6 weeks after the day on which a candidate or candidates returned at an election is or are declared elected, the election agent of every candidate at the election shall make an election return to the returning officer for the electoral area in which he acted as an election agent.

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(2) Every return made under this section shall contain a full statement, under the appropriate head specified in the return, of all expenditure incurred in connection with the election by or on behalf of the candidate, and shall be supported by vouchers for all payments in excess of 30 rupees.

(3) Every return made under this section shall contain a full statement of all moneys, securities, or the equivalent of money, received by the election agent from the candidate or from any other person in connection with the election.

(4) Subject to subsection (6), every return under subsection (1) shall be in Form K of the Schedule and shall be sworn to before a Magistrate by the agent by whom it is made.

(5) (a) Every return under this section shall be supported by a declaration sworn to before a Magistrate by the candidate, stating that—

(i) the return fully and accurately sets out all payments made by him; and

(ii) to the best of his knowledge, information and belief, the return is a full and accurate return of all expenditure incurred, and of all moneys, securities or the equivalent of money received by the election agent, in connection with the election.

(b) Subparagraph (ii) shall not apply where a candidate acts as his own agent.

(6) Where a candidate acts as his own agent, the form referred to in subsection (4) shall be modified in the manner shown on the prescribed form.

(7) (a) The returning officer shall, within 10 days after he receives a return under this section, publish in a daily newspaper a notice of the time and place at which the return and the documents supporting can be inspected.

(b) In Rodrigues, the notice shall be published by affixing copies at such conspicuous places in Rodrigues as the returning officer thinks fit.

(8) Any candidate or election agent who fails to comply with this section shall commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding 1,000 rupees.

57. Claim and payment for election expenses

(1) Subject to this section—

(a) every claim against a candidate at an election, or his election agent, in respect of any expenses incurred on account of, or in respect of, the conduct or management of the election, which is not sent in to the election agent within 14 days after the day on which the candidates returned are declared elected, shall be barred and shall not be paid, and an election agent who pays a claim which is barred under this paragraph shall be guilty of an illegal practice; and

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(b) all expenses incurred by or on behalf of a candidate at an elec- tion, which are incurred on account of, or in respect of, the con- duct or management of the election, shall be paid within 28 days after the day on which the candidates returned are declared elected, and not otherwise, and an election agent who makes a payment in contravention of this paragraph shall be guilty of an illegal practice.

(2) Where an election agent, in the case of any claim sent in to him within the time limited by section 56, disputes it, or refuses or fails to pay it within the period of 28 days, the claim shall be deemed to be a disputed claim.

(3) (a) The claimant may bring an action for a disputed claim in the competent Court.

(b) Any sum paid by the candidate or his agent in pursuance of the judgment or order of the Court shall be deemed to be paid within the time limited by subsection (1).

(4) On cause shown to the satisfaction of a Judge in Chambers, or, in Rodrigues, of the Magistrate appointed for the purpose, the Judge or Magis- trate, on application by the claimant or by the candidate or by his election agent, may by Order give leave for the payment by a candidate or his elec- tion agent of a disputed claim, or of a claim for any such expenses as are mentioned in subsection (1) although sent in after the time limited in that subsection, or although sent in to the candidate and not to the election agent, and any sum specified in the order may be paid by the candidate or his election agent, and when paid in pursuance of the order, shall be deemed to be paid within the time limited by subsection (1).

PART V – ELECTION OFFENCES

58. Illegal payment

Any person who knowingly provides money for a payment which is con- trary to this Act shall be guilty of illegal payment.

59. Corrupt withdrawal of candidature

(1) Any person who corruptly induces or procures another person to withdraw from being a candidate at an election, in consideration of any pe- cuniary or other reward or promise of pecuniary or other reward, shall be guilty of illegal payment.

(2) Any person withdrawing, in pursuance of such inducement or pro- curement, shall also be guilty of illegal payment.

60. —

61. Illegal hiring

(1) No premises— (a) on which the sale by wholesale or retail of intoxicating liquor is

authorised by a licence whether for consumption on or off the premises;

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(b) where intoxicating liquor is sold or is supplied to members of a club, society or association other than a permanent political club;

(c) where refreshment of any kind, whether food or drink, is ordinar- ily sold for consumption on the premises; or

(d) used for a primary school or secondary school in receipt of a grant-in-aid from public funds, or any part of such premises,

shall be used as committee room for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of a candidate at an election.

(2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) or who knowingly lets such premises as a committee room for a purpose mentioned in subsec- tion (1) shall be guilty of illegal hiring.

(3) Nothing in this section shall apply to any part of such premises which is ordinarily let for the purpose of chambers or offices, or the holding of pub- lic meetings or of arbitrations, where that part has a separate entrance and no direct communication with any part of the premises on which any intoxi- cating liquor or refreshment is sold or supplied as is mentioned in subsec- tion (1).

(4) Nothing in this section shall preclude a candidate, for the purpose of holding a public meeting in furtherance of his candidature, from using at rea- sonable times a suitable room in any school mentioned in subsection (1) situated within the electoral area for which he is a candidate, subject to the consent of the manager of the school having been previously obtained.

62. —

63. Penalty for illegal payment or hiring

(1) A candidate or an election agent who personally commits the offence of illegal payment or illegal hiring shall be guilty of an illegal practice.

(2) Any other person who commits the offence of illegal payment or ille- gal hiring shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding 1,000 rupees.

64. Bribery and treating

(1) Any person who—

(a) directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, gives, lends, or agrees to give or lend, or offers, prom- ises, or promises to procure or to endeavour to procure, any money or valuable consideration to or for an elector, or to or for any person on behalf of an elector, or to or for any other person, in order to induce the elector to vote or refrain from voting, or corruptly does any such act on account of the elector having voted or refrained from voting at any election;

(b) directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, gives or procures, or agrees to give or procure, or offers, promises or promises to procure or to endeavour to procure any

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office, place or employment, to or for an elector, or to or for any person on behalf of an elector or for any other person, in order to induce the elector to vote or refrain from voting, or corruptly does any such act on account of the elector having voted or re- frained from voting at an election;

(c) directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, makes any gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement, or agreement mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b), to or for any per- son, in order to induce that person to procure, or endeavour to procure, the return of a person as an elected member of a coun- cil or the vote of an elector at an election;

(d) upon or in consequence of any such gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement or agreement, procures or engages, promises or endeavours to procure, the return of a person as an elected member of a council, or the vote of an elector at an election;

(e) advances or pays, or causes to be paid, any money to or to the use of any other person, with the intent that such money shall be spent in bribery at an election, or who knowingly pays, or causes to be paid, any money to any person in discharge or re- payment of any money spent in bribery at an election;

(f) before or during an election, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, receives, agrees or contracts for any money, gift, loan or valuable consideration, office, place, or employment, for himself or for any person, for voting or agreeing to vote, or for refraining or agreeing to refrain from vot- ing at an election; or

(g) after an election, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, receives any money or valuable considera- tion on account of any person having voted or refrained from voting, or having induced any other person to vote or refrain from voting, at an election,

shall be guilty of bribery.

(2) Any person who— (a) corruptly, by himself or by any other person, either before, dur-

ing or after an election, directly or indirectly gives or provides, or pays the expenses of giving or providing, any food, drink, enter- tainment, or provision to or for any person for the purpose of corruptly influencing that person, or any other person, to vote or refrain from voting at the election; or

(b) corruptly accepts or takes any such food, drink, entertainment or provision,

shall be guilty of treating.

65. Undue influence

(1) Any person who, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, makes use of, or threatens to make use of, any force,

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violence, or restraint, or inflicts, or threatens to inflict, by himself or by any other person, any temporal or spiritual injury, damage, harm, or loss upon or against any person in order to induce or compel that person to vote or refrain from voting, or on account of that person having voted or refrained from vot- ing, at an election, or who by abduction, duress or any fraudulent contriv- ance, impedes or prevents the free exercise of the franchise of an elector, or thereby compels, induces, or prevails upon, an elector to give or refrain from giving his vote at an election, shall be guilty of undue influence.

(2) Any person who on polling day— (a) annoys, molests or otherwise interferes with an elector; (b) attempts to obtain information as to the candidate for whom an

elector is about to vote or has voted, or as to the number on the ballot paper given to an elector;

(c) remains outside a voting room except for the purposes of gaining entry to the voting room in order to vote; or

(d) within 200 metres of the precincts of a polling station— (i) loiters in any street or open place; or (ii) by word, message, writing or in any other manner, en-

deavours to persuade any person to vote for a candidate or party or dissuades any person from voting or from voting for a candidate or party,

shall be guilty of undue influence.

(3) Any person who, as from the day of election appointed under sec- tion 41 (1) (b) and until the expiry of 3 days after the day appointed for the taking of a poll under section 41 (1) (a) (ii), opens or maintains, within 200 metres of the precincts of a polling station, for the purpose of any activity directed towards promoting or procuring the election of a candidate at an election, an office in any room, building or place whatsoever, whether public or private, open or closed, shall be guilty of undue influence.

[S. 65 amended by GN 80 of 1982.]

66. Penalty for offences against sections 64 and 65

Every person who is guilty of bribery, treating or undue influence under this Act, shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding 2,000 rupees and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year.

67. Personation

Every person who— (a) at an election applies for a ballot paper in the name of another

person, whether that name is the name of a person living or dead, or of a fictitious person; or

(b) having voted once at an election, applies at the same election for a ballot paper in his own name,

shall be guilty of personation.

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68. Penalty for personation

Any person who is guilty of personation, shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years.

69. Disqualification on conviction

Every person who is convicted of bribery, treating, undue influence or personation, shall, without prejudice to any other punishment, be incapable, during a period of 7 years from the date of his conviction, of—

(a) being registered as an elector, or of voting at an election; or

(b) being a candidate at an election or, if elected before his convic- tion, of retaining his seat.

70. Illegal practice

Any person who—

(a) votes, or induces or procures any person to vote, at an election, knowing that he or the other person is prohibited, by this Act or by any other enactment, from voting at the election; or

(b) before or during an election, knowingly publishes a false state- ment of the withdrawal of a candidate at the election for the pur- pose of promoting or procuring the election of another candidate,

shall be guilty of an illegal practice.

71. Offences in respect of ballot boxes

(1) Every person who—

(a) forges or counterfeits, or fraudulently defaces or destroys, a bal- lot paper or the official mark on a ballot paper;

(b) without due authority supplies a ballot paper to any person;

(c) fraudulently puts into a ballot box any paper other than the ballot paper which he is authorised by law to put in;

(d) fraudulently takes out of the polling station a ballot paper; or

(e) without due authority destroys, takes, opens, or otherwise inter- feres with, a ballot box or packet of ballot papers then in use for the purposes of an election,

shall commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable in the case of a returning officer, or presiding officer, or clerk employed at a polling station, to a fine not exceeding 2,000 rupees and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years and, in any other case, to a fine not exceeding 500 rupees and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months.

(2) In any information or prosecution for an offence in relation to the bal- lot boxes, ballot papers and other things in use at an election, the property in such ballot boxes, ballot papers or things may be stated to be vested in the returning officer at such election.

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72. Duty of secrecy

(1) (a) Every officer, clerk, candidate and agent in attendance at a poll- ing station shall maintain and aid in maintaining the secrecy of the voting in the station, and shall not communicate except for a purpose authorised by law, before the poll is closed, to any person any information as to the name or number on the register of electors of an elector who has or has not ap- plied for a ballot paper or voted at that station or as to the official mark.

(b) No person shall interfere with an elector when marking his vote, or otherwise attempt to obtain in the polling station information as to the candidate for whom an elector in the station is about to vote or has voted, or communicate to any person any information obtained in a polling station as to the candidate for whom an elector in the station is about to vote or has voted, or as to the number on the back of the ballot paper given to an elec- tor at the station.

(2) Every officer, clerk, candidate and agent in attendance at the count- ing of the votes shall maintain and aid in maintaining the secrecy of the vot- ing, and shall not attempt to ascertain at the counting the number on the back of a ballot paper, or communicate any information obtained at the counting as to the candidate for whom a vote is given in a ballot paper.

(3) No person shall, directly or indirectly, induce an elector to display his ballot paper after he has marked it so as to make known to any person the name of the candidate for whom he has marked his vote.

(4) Any person who contravenes this section shall commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months.

72A. Preservation of order

(1) The senior presiding officer at a polling station shall—

(a) keep order at the polling station;

(b) subject to subsection (4), refuse admittance to the polling sta- tion to any person other than—

(i) the Chairperson and members of the Commission; (ii) an election officer; (iii) a candidate; (iv) any polling agent; (v) a police officer on duty; and (vi) any International Election Observer referred to in sec-

tion 77;

(c) take steps for the enforcement of section 65 (2) and, for that purpose, may cause any person who misbehaves within the pre- cincts of the polling station or persists, after being warned, in disobeying the directions of the senior presiding officer or in

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contravening this section or section 65 (2), to be immediately removed from the polling station by a police officer or a directing clerk.

(2) Every directing clerk shall assist the senior presiding officer in keeping order at his polling station and shall, for that purpose—

(a) ensure that no person loiters within the precincts of the polling station;

(b) direct electors within the precincts of the polling station to form queues for the purpose of gaining access to the voting room al- lotted to them; and

(c) assist any elector, at his request, in identifying his name in the part of the register of electors entitled to vote at the polling station.

(3) Any person removed from a polling station under subsection (1) shall not, without the permission of the senior presiding officer, re-enter the poll- ing station on that same day and may, if charged with an offence committed at a polling station, be taken into custody by a police officer.

(4) The powers conferred by subsection (1) (b) and (c) shall not be exer- cised so as to prevent an elector who is entitled to vote at a polling station from having an opportunity of voting at that polling station.

(5) The Commissioner of Police shall, in consultation with the Electoral Commissioner, take such measures as may be necessary for the preservation of order and preventing the assembly of a crowd on polling day within the precincts of a polling station and in any place whether public or private within a radius of 200 metres.

[S. 72A amended by s. 4 of Act 6 of 2005 w.e.f. 8 April 2005.]

73. Offences by election officers

Every election officer who—

(a) makes in any record, return or other document which he is re- quired to keep or make under this Act, an entry which he knows, or has reasonable cause to believe to be false, or does not believe to be true;

(b) permits a person whom he knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, not to be a blind person, an incapacitated person or an illiterate person, to vote in the manner provided for blind per- sons, incapacitated persons or illiterate persons, as the case may be;

(c) refuses to permit a person whom he knows or has reasonable cause to believe to be a blind person, an incapacitated person or an illiterate person to vote in the manner provided for blind per- sons, incapacitated persons or illiterate persons, as the case may be;

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(d) wilfully prevents a person from voting at the polling station at which he knows or has reasonable cause to believe that person is entitled to vote;

(e) wilfully rejects or refuses to count a ballot paper which he knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is validly cast for a candidate in accordance with this Act; or

(f) wilfully counts a ballot paper as being cast for a candidate, which he knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, was not validly cast for the candidate,

shall commit an offence, and shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years.

74. Consequences of illegal practice

(1) A person who is guilty of an illegal practice shall, on conviction, be li- able to a fine not exceeding 1,000 rupees, and, subject to subsection (2) shall, in addition, be incapable, during a period of 5 years from the date of his conviction, of being registered as an elector or of voting at an election or of being a candidate at an election, or, if elected before his conviction, of retaining his seat.

(2) The incapacity under subsection (1) shall not take effect until—

(a) the expiry of a period 30 days after the conviction; or

(b) the determination by the Supreme Court of an application for relief under section 74B.

[S. 74 amended by Act 15 of 1992.]

74A. Powers of Court

Where, in the course of proceedings in relation to an election petition or to a prosecution for an offence under this Act, it is not established that an act or omission which would, but for this section, be an offence of illegal practice under Part IV or V of this Act, did not arise from inadvertence or any other reasonable cause or did arise from want of good faith, the Court shall not find the act or omission to be a breach of Part IV or V relating to an illegal practice, and no person shall be subject to any of the consequences that might otherwise follow from the act or omission.

[S. 74A inserted by Act 15 of 1992.]

74B. Granting of relief by Supreme Court

(1) A candidate or an election agent may apply to the Court for relief.

(2) Where, in an application for relief under subsection (1), it appears to the Court that an act or omission of any person, which would but for this section be an offence of illegal practice under Part IV or V of the Act, arose from inadvertence, or other reasonable cause and not from any want of good faith, the Court may make an order allowing the act or omission to be an

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exemption from this Act making it an illegal practice, and upon the making of the order, no person shall be subject to any of the consequences under this Act in respect of that act or omission.

[S. 74B inserted by Act 15 of 1992.]

PART VI – GENERAL

75. Conclusiveness of register of electors

(1) No person shall be entitled to vote at an election held for an electoral area unless his name is on the register of electors in force for that electoral area.

(2) A person whose name is on the register shall be entitled to demand and receive a ballot paper and to vote at any such election.

(3) Nothing in this section shall entitle a person to vote who is prohibited from voting by an enactment, or relieve such person from any penalty to which he may be liable for voting.

76. Returning officer presiding at polling station

Where the returning officer presides at a polling station, the provisions of this Act relating to a presiding officer shall apply to such returning officer with the necessary modifications as to things to be done by the returning officer to the presiding officer, or the presiding officer to the returning officer.

77. International Election Observers

(1) The Electoral Commissioner may, with the approval of the Commis- sion, invite any international or regional organisation to deploy a mission comprising of International Election Observers to Mauritius for the purpose of observing, subject to any regulations made under this section, the conduct of any election process in Mauritius.

(2) Every International Election Observer forming part of an election obser- vation mission deployed by an international or regional organisation, pursuant to an invitation made under subsection (1), shall, within such delay as may be prescribed, apply to the Electoral Commissioner for accreditation in such form and manner as may be determined by the Electoral Commissioner.

(3) The Electoral Commissioner may, with the approval of the Commis- sion, grant the application for the accreditation where he is satisfied that the applicant is a fit and proper person.

(4) The Electoral Commissioner may, with the approval of the Commission, withdraw the accreditation granted to an International Election Observer where he is satisfied that the International Election Observer has failed to comply with the laws of Mauritius relating to elections or with such Code of Conduct for international election observers as may be prescribed.

[S. 77 inserted by s. 5 of Act 6 of 2005 w.e.f. 8 April 2005.]

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78. Clerk may act for presiding officer

(1) Subject to subsection (2), the presiding officer may authorise a clerk appointed to assist him to do an act which he is required or authorised to do by this Act at a polling station.

(2) The presiding officer may not authorise a clerk to order the arrest, exclusion, or ejection of a person from the polling station.

79. Candidates may act in person

A candidate may himself undertake the duties which his agent, if appointed, might have undertaken, or may assist his agent in the performance of such duties and may be present at any place at which his agent may attend under this Act.

80. Expenses of returning officer

All expenses properly incurred by a returning officer at an election in accordance with this Act shall be paid out of the Consolidated Fund.

81. Payment of expenses by local bodies

Any expenses properly incurred in connection with the preparation of the register and the holding of a local government election under this Act, with regard to a city, town or village, shall be reimbursed to the Government by the council of the city, town or village, as the case may be, in such propor- tion and within such time as may be determined by the President after such representations as may be made in that behalf by the council concerned.

[S. 81 amended by Act 48 of 1991; s. 146 (8) (d) of Act 32 of 2003; s. 7 (d) of Act 23 of 2005 w.e.f. 18 August 2005; s. 165 (16) (f) of Act 36 of 2011 w.e.f. 15 December 2011.]

82. Allowances to members of Commission

The Chairperson and members of the Commission and of the Electoral Boundaries Commission shall receive such allowances as may be specified by Order made by the President and approved by the Assembly.

[S. 82 amended by Act 48 of 1991.]

83. Exemption from stamp and registration duties

Stamp and registration duties shall not be chargeable on any claim, notice, declaration, list, register, nomination paper, ballot paper or other document used in connection with this Act.

84. Removal of difficulties

Where a difficulty arises in bringing this Act into operation or in giving effect to the purposes of this Act, the President, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister and after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition, may by regulations make such provision as seems to him necessary or expedient for the purpose of removing the difficulty and may by such regulations amend this Act.

[S. 84 amended by Act 48 of 1991.]

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85. Regulations

(1) The President may make regulations— (a) for prescribing the forms to be used for the purpose of this Act; (b) for amending any regulations under this Act and the forms set

out in the Schedule; (c) for prescribing the fees to be paid or charged in respect of any

matter or thing to be done in connection with this Act; (d) for prescribing the period during which every employer shall

permit his employees to be absent from work for the purpose of recording their votes;

(e) for providing for a special method or methods of voting at an election of such categories of police officers or election officers as may be specified in the regulations;

(f) for providing for the prohibition of the sale of intoxicating liquor or rum, with such exemptions as may be specified, in respect of any local government election; and

(g) generally for the purposes of this Act.

(2) Regulations made under subsection (1) may provide that any person who contravenes them shall commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding 1,000 rupees and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years.

[S. 85 amended by Act 48 of 1991.]



SCHEDULE

FORM A [Section 8A]

*Constituency No. ......... /Ward ....... of City of ................. /Ward ................. of Town of .............. /Village of ...................... Registration Area ................................... Distinguishing Letters .............................

REGISTER OF ELECTORS

Part ...... of Register of Electors for the .......... which comprises ............... parts.

Surname and other names in full Address Consecutive Number





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FORM A—continued

Separate section of Register for Constituency—

Surname and other names in full Address Consecutive Number



The Distinguishing Letters ............. are part of the elector’s number in the register.

Date of coming into force ....................

Date .................................................

.......................................................... Signature of Registration Officer Complete heading as appropriate.



FORM B [Section 9]

Sir/Madam 1. I have the honour to require you, under the powers conferred on me by law, to

furnish to the Registration Officer for this constituency, for the purpose of his duties of preparing the electors’ list, the information shown on the annexed return in respect of all Commonwealth citizens who—

(a) have attained, or will have attained the age of 18, on 15 August this year; and

(b) either have resided in Mauritius for a period of not less than 2 years imme- diately before 1 January this year, or are domiciled in your house and are resident there on 1 January this year.

2. Consequently you are requested to verify and amend, where necessary, the par- ticulars regarding all adult members of your household, whose names are printed on the annexed return.

3. You should also add on the return the names and particulars of all adults entitled to be registered as electors in your house but whose names do not appear there- on. Any such adult, who wishes to be registered as an elector, should complete a “Declaration of Qualification” form (Form C), which may be obtained from the Assistant Registration Officer.

4. When completing the return do not think only of those living in your house today; there may be others who are resident though absent. Generally speaking, a person is resident in a house if he normally lives there; so such a person should be included even though he is temporarily away, for example on overseas leave, or on a visit, or in hospital. On the other hand, some of those present may not be residents; for instance, a guest, or a visitor who ordinarily lives somewhere else should no be included.

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FORM B—continued

5. I wish to draw your attention to section 9 (2) of the Act, whereby a person who fails to complete the said return or knowingly gives information which is false in any material particular, shall commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be li- able to a fine not exceeding 500 rupees.

Date ................................. .......................................................... Electoral Commissioner

RETURN BY HOUSEHOLDER OF ADULT RESIDENTS

ELECTORAL COMMISSIONER’S OFFICE

Canvass Year ................. House No. .................................................... Constituency No. ............ Street .......................................................... Reg. Area ...................... Locality ........................................................ Canvass Area ................. H. Hold No. ................................................... Sheet No. ...................... After Sheet No. .............................................

Elector’s Number

National Identity Card

No.

Surname, other name (Maiden Name)

Age Remarks

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

I certify that the above information is correct to the best of my knowledge

Date ............................. .............................................. Signature of Householder or

Thumb or finger print

of Householder Please complete this return as soon as possible after reading carefully the notes on

the verso as well as the attached letter (Form B). An Assistant Registration Officer will collect it within 2 days.

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FORM B—continued

Verso of Return Notes of Guidance for filling this Return

1. Information as regards all adults whose names appear on the recto— 1.1. Insert one of the following remarks in the last column. 1.1.1. “Here” (if the person was resident in your house on the 1st January

of this year); 1.1.2. “Left” (if the person has left your household). Please mention also his

new address; 1.1.3. “Emigrated” (if the person has emigrated). Please state also the name

of the country he has emigrated to; 1.1.4. “Dead” (for a deceased person). Please insert also the date of his death. 2. Information as regards all adults whose names do not appear on the recto— 2.1. Fill in columns 3 to 5 accurately.

FORM C [Section 9]

DECLARATION OF NEW ELECTOR

Sir/Madam, Under the powers conferred on me by law, I have the honour to require you, if

you wish to be entered on the Electoral Register, to complete and deliver to the As- sistant Registration Officer the Declaration of Qualification on the verso which is required by the Registration Officer for the purpose of compiling the Electors’ List.

Date ....................................... ........................................................... Electoral Commissioner

DECLARATION OF QUALIFICATION

Constituency Can. Area Registration Area Sheet No.

H. Hold No.

After Sheet No.

Surname

Other names in full

Maiden name where applicable



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FORM C—continued

Address Occupation

Date of Birth Name of Husband/Partner

National Identity Card No. Nationality



I certify that the above information is correct to the best of my knowledge and that I am qualified to be registered as an elector in this constituency and that I was resident therein on 1st January of this year.

At the last house-to-house enquiry I was registered in Constituency No. .............. and was residing at ...........................

Date ............................. .....................................

Signature of elector OR thumb or finger print of

elector



..................................... .....................................

Witness Assistant Registration Officer



NOTE: This form should be signed in the presence of the Assistant Registration

Officer or of the householder, who must then sign as witness.



FORM D [Section 10 (1) (a)]

NOTICE OF CLAIM

For Office Use

Reg. Area Can. Area H. Hold No. After Sheet No.

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FORM D—continued

Constituency Ward of the City or Town/Village



Surname Other names in full

Maiden name where ap- plicable Address Date of Birth Name of Husband/Partner Occupation

Nationality National Identity Card No. To the Registration Officer for Constituency No.

I certify that the above information is correct and that I am qualified to be registered on the register and claim to have my name entered therein; and that my qualification is derived from residence in the Constituency/Ward of the City/Ward of the Town/Village.

Date .................... .....................................

Signature of Claimant OR Thumb or finger print of Claimant

Dated and signed in my presence on ...................................................................

.......................................................... Signature of Assistant Registration Officer NOTE: This claim should be signed in presence of the Assistant Registration Officer.



FORM E [Section 10 (1) (a)]

CLAIM TO BE CORRECTLY ENTERED ON THE REGISTER OF ELECTORS

To the Registration Officer for Constituency No. Take notice that my names and/or particulars are incorrectly entered

as entry No. + in section A/B* of the Electors’ List (1) (2)

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FORM E—continued

The entry should read as follows: ...................................................................................................................... Surname: Other Names: Address: Qualification: ...................................................................................................................... Occupation: ....................................................................................................

Date of Birth: National Identity Card No.: Maiden Name where applicable:

Date .................... ........................................

Signature of Claimant OR Thumb or finger print of Claimant

Dated and signed in my presence on ..................................................................

........................................................... Signature of Assistant Registration Officer +(1) Insert Distinguishing Letters (2) Insert Elector’s number * Delete whichever not applicable



FORM F [Section 10 (1) (b)]

COMPILATION OF REGISTER

For the Electoral Area of ......... Notice is hereby given that any person who claims to be entitled to be registered as an elector and who is not already on the electors’ list for the electoral area of .............. or who, being entered on such list, shall not retain the same qualification as described in that list or shall otherwise be incorrectly entered on that list, may appear before the registration officer of the aforesaid electoral area and present his claim to be registered, or to be correctly registered on or before the ............ day of ................. 20..............

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FORM F—continued

Forms are obtainable, free of charge, from the registration officer at the address below.

Date ....................................... .......................................................... Registration Officer Address ..................................



FORM G [Section 10 (5)]

To The Electoral Commissioner Take notice that I ................ (name of service elector) of ................................

(postal address of residence immediately before absence from Mauritius) in the con- stituency of .................................................................................................... being a citizen of ...................... (state citizenship) born on ............. (date of birth)

continued on page R20 – 45

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FORM G—continued

hereby claim to be registered as a service elector on the ground that my absence from Mauritius is—

(a) for the purpose of taking up the office of ......... of Mauritius; (b) for the purpose of performing duties on behalf of the Government outside

Mauritius; or (c) by reason of my being a member of the family forming part of the household

of ........................................................................................................

Date ................................... Signature ...........................................

FORM H [Section 12]

NOTICE OF OBJECTION

To the registration officer for the electoral area of ............................................. Take notice that I ....................... of ................... (a) and qualified for inclusion

of the electors’ list/list of claimants (b) for the electoral area of ................. and that I am so included or that I have made a claim for inclusion therein and that I object to the inclusion— (i) in the electors’ list (ii) in the list of claimants of ............... (c) on the ground that such person is disqualified for inclusion therein by rea-

son of ......................................................................................... (d) and that this Notice of Objection is accompanied by a deposit

of ......... rupees in ......................................... (e) as required by the Representation of the People Act.

.......................................................... Signature or thumb print

Date ...................................

.......................................................... Signature of witness (a) Insert, in Roman characters, full name and address of objector. (b) Strike out words not applicable. (c) Insert, in Roman characters, full name and postal address of the person to

whose inclusion in the list objection is made. (d) Insert, in Roman characters, the grounds of disqualification, e.g. is not resi-

dent in the constituency, or is not a Commonwealth citizen, etc. (e) Legal tender, e.g. currency notes, cash, etc. (Postal orders and cheques duly

certified by the Bank may be accepted at the discretion of the registration officer).

NOTE: This form need not be witnessed unless the objector, instead of signing, makes his mark by thumb print.

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FORM I [Section 14]

NOTICE TO PERSONS OBJECTED TO

Take notice that I object/I have received objection made by ...................... to the inclusion of your name in the register of electors for the electoral area of ............... and that a public inquiry will take place on the .............. day of ................. 20 .... You are hereby required to appear before me on the aforesaid day at .................. And further take notice that unless you appear before me and show cause why

your name should not be deleted from/should be included in the register, your name may be deleted therefrom/may not be included therein. The grounds of objection are .............................................................................

.......................................................... Registration Officer

Date .......................................

VERSO OF FORM I

REVISION OF REGISTER OF ELECTORS

NOTICE TO PERSONS OBJECTED TO

(Frank)

........................................................... (Name and Address)

FORM J [Section 41]

WRIT OF ELECTION

By .......................................... To .......................................... Returning Officer for the constituency of ............................................................ You are hereby required, notice of the day, time and place of election being first

duly given, to cause election to be made according to law of .............. member/s to serve in the National Assembly for the said constituency of ............ on the .......... day of .................. 20..... at ......... and that you do certify to me by endorsement upon this writ, on or before the ........... day of ................ 20...... the name of the members when so elected.

Witness my hand at ............. this ................. day of ..................... 20 .........

.......................................................... President

Revised Laws of Mauritius

R20 – 47 [Issue 4]

FORM J — continued VERSO OF FORM J

Received the within writ on the .................... day of .......................... 20 .........

.......................................................... Returning Officer for the

constituency of ........................

CERTIFICATE ENDORSED ON THE WRIT I hereby certify that the member/s elected for the constituency of ................... in

pursuance of the within writ and the number of votes he has/they have respectively received is—

Name Address Occupation Number of votes received

............................ ............................ ............................ ............................

............................ ............................ ............................ ............................

............................ ............................ ............................ ............................

.......................................................... Returning Officer for the

constituency of ........................



FORM K [Section 56 (4)]

DECLARATION OF CANDIDATE

I ...................................... of ................................ a candidate at the election of ........................... member(s) of the ................................. Council held on the .................... day of ...................... 20....... for the constituency of ................. do swear/solemnly affirm that— (1) I have examined the attached return and the vouchers in support thereof; (2) I have made no payment to any person other than my official agent in connec-

tion with my candidature except as set out in the attached return; (3) to the best of my knowledge, information and belief the attached return is in

every respect a full and accurate return of all expenditure incurred, and of all money, securities or the equivalent of money received by my agent, in con- nection with my candidature at the said election.

..........................................................

Signature Sworn/solemnly affirmed by .........................................................................

Before me this ....................................... day of .......................... 20 .........

.......................................................... Magistrate

Representation of the People Act

[Issue 4] R20 – 48

FORM K — continued

DECLARATION OF ELECTION AGENT I ................................. of ................. an election agent to ...........................

candidate at the election of ............... member(s) of the .................................... Council held on the .............. day of ........................ 20 ...... for the constituency of ......................... do swear/solemnly affirm that— (1) to the best of my knowledge, information and belief the attached return is a

full and accurate return of all expenditure incurred in connection with the can- didature of the said ................................................................................

at the said election between the appointment of the date/the issue of the writ for the said election and the return thereto;

(2) that I have not received from the candidate or from any club, society, associa- tion or any source any sum of money, securities, or any equivalent of money in connection with the said candidature, between the said dates except as set out in the return.

..........................................................

Signature Sworn/solemnly affirmed by .........................................................................

Before me this ....................................... day of .......................... 20 .........

.......................................................... Magistrate [Sch. amended by Act 48 of 1991; GN 229 of 1993; s. 146 (8) (e) of Act 32 of 2003 w.e.f. 1

December 2003; s. 7 (e) of Act 23 of 2005 w.e.f. 18 August 2005; s. 165 (g) of Act 36 of 2011 w.e.f. 15 December 2011; GN 44 of 2012 w.e.f. 1 March 2012.]