Electoral_Amendment_Act2010
Act 13 of 2010
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ELECTORAL (AMENDMENT) ACT 2010
Electoral (Amendment) Act 2010 Arrangement of Sections
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Act No.13 of 2010 Page 3
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ELECTORAL (AMENDMENT) ACT 2010
Arrangement of Sections
Section
1 Short Title .................................................................................................... 5
2 Section 2 amended – Interpretation ................................................................... 5
3 Section 3 amended – Supervisor of Elections ........ ......................................... 5
4 Section 4 amended – The roll .................................................................... 6
5 Section 4(3) replaced ........................................................................................ 6
6 Section 4(4) replaced ........................................................................................ 6
7 Section 5 (3) amended – Publication of roll .......................................................... 7
8 Section 6 replaced – Electoral roll appeals ................................................... 7
9 Section 7 replaced – Election writs ................................................................... 7
10 Section 8 amended – Nominations ...................................................................... 8
11 Section 9 amended - Candidates ............................................................... 8
12 Section 9A amended – Withdrawal of nomination ................................................ 9
13 Section 12 amended – Procedure on voting ........................................................... 9
14 Section 16 amended - Counting ................................................................. 9
15 Section 17 amended - Recounts ................................................................ 9
16 Section 19 amended – False impersonation ......................................................... 10
17 Sections 20, 21, 22 and 23 amended – Fines ......... ...................................... 10
18 Section 23 amended – General offences .............................................................. 10
19 Section 24 amended – Permitted election expenses ............................................. 10
20 Section 26 amended – Election petitions ............................................................. 10
21 Section 41 amended – Regulations ............................................................. 10
22 Section 42 repealed – Transitional ............................................................ 11
23 Schedule 1 amended, new Form 1 ............................................................... 11
24 Temporary provisions for next election ......................................................... 11
25 Transitional ................................................................................................ 12
Arrangement of Sections Electoral (Amendment) Act 2010
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SCHEDULE 13
Electoral (Amendment) Act 2010 Section 1
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Act No.13 of 2010 Page 5
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ELECTORAL (AMENDMENT) ACT 2010
Act No.13 of 2010
AN ACT TO AMEND THE ELECTORAL ACT
I assent,
PRINCESS SALOTE PILOLEVU TUITA,
6th May 2010.
BE IT ENACTED by the King and Legislative Assembly of Tonga in the
Legislature of the Kingdom as follows:
1 Short Title
(1) This Act may be cited as the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2010.
(2) In this Act, the Electoral Act 1989, as amended, is referred to as the Principal
Act.
2 Section 2 amended – Interpretation
Section 2 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting he following definitions in
the appropriate places–
“Electoral Commission” means the Commission established by the Electoral
Commission Act 2010;
“Tongan subject” has the meaning given in section 2 of the Nationality
Act.”.
3 Section 3 amended – Supervisor of Elections
Section 3 of the Principal Act is amended –
Section 4 Electoral (Amendment) Act 2010
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(a) in subsection (1), by inserting “and any other Act” at the end, before the full
stop;
(b) in subsections (1), (2) and (3) by deleting “Prime Minister” and replacing it
with “Electoral Commission”.
4 Section 4 amended – The roll
Section 4 of the Principal Act is amended by –
(a) in subsection (1), deleting “Prime Minister’s Office” and replacing it with
“Office of the Electoral Commission”;
(b) in subsection (2) inserting the following paragraph –
“(d) include for each constituency a separate section showing electors who
reside overseas and their address.”;
(c) deleting subsections (5) and (6) and replacing them with —
“(5) A person shall not be entitled to be registered as an elector in more than
one constituency at the same time.
(6) An elector –
(a) may apply to the Supervisor in Form 3 of the Schedule for a
change in the constituency where he is registered;
(b) who ceased to be a Tongan subject shall notify the Supervisor.”;
and
(d) in subsection (9), deleting “Electoral Appeal Committee” and replacing it
with “Electoral Commission”.
5 Section 4(3) replaced
Section 4(3) of the Principal Act is deleted and replaced with –
“(3) Every Tongan upon attaining the age of 21 years shall, unless disqualified
under clause 64 of the Constitution, within 3 months of attaining that age or
within 3 months of his return to the Kingdom if not already registered or
within 3 months of becoming a naturalised Tongan subject, apply to the
Supervisor in Form 1 of the Schedule to be entered on the roll for the
constituency in which he has been resident for the period of 3 months before
his application for registration. An application in Form 1 shall include a recent
photograph of the applicant. Upon the registration of any elector, the
Supervisor shall issue a certificate in Form 2 of the Schedule.”.
6 Section 4(4) replaced
Section 4(4) of the Principal Act is deleted and replaced with –
“(4) Notwithstanding subsection (3) –
Electoral (Amendment) Act 2010 Section 7
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(a) if a person has been resident in more than one place during the period
of 6 months, referred to in subsection (3), he shall apply for
registration, at his option, in either of the following electoral
constituency –
(i) the electoral constituency where he was last resident for the
period of 3 months; or
(ii) the electoral constituency where he has been resident for the
period of 3 months before his application;
(b) for a member of the Legislative Assembly who represents an electoral
constituency outside Tongatapu, the time spent in residence in
Tongatapu to fulfil his responsibilities as a member or as a Cabinet
Minister shall be disregarded for the purpose of determining where he
is resident;
(c) a Tongan subject who is not resident in Tonga may apply in the manner
specified in subsection (3) to be entered on the roll for the electoral
constituency in which he was last resident for the period of 3 months;
(d) if a person satisfies the Supervisor that employment commitments
require him or his spouse to reside in a place outside his normal
electoral constituency, then he may apply to be regist red in the
electoral constituency where, before the employment commitments
required him to relocate, he was last resident for the period of 3
months.”.
7 Section 5 (3) amended – Publication of roll
Section 5(3) of the Principal Act is amended by deleting the words “Electoral
Appeal Committee” and replacing them with “Electoral Commission”.
8 Section 6 replaced – Electoral roll appeals
Section 6 of the Principal Act is deleted and replaced with –
“6 Electoral roll appeals
On any appeal under section 4(9) or 5(3), the Electoral Commission may
give such directions in the matter as they think prope and the order of the
Electoral Commission shall be final and conclusive and not subject to
appeal to any other body.”.
9 Section 7 replaced – Election writs
Section 7 of the Principal Act is deleted and replaced with –
“7 Election writs
(1) For the purpose of every general election of representatives of the
nobles or the people to the Legislative Assembly, the King, on the
Section 10 Electoral (Amendment) Act 2010
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advice of the Prime Minister, shall issue writs of election, under seal,
addressed to the Electoral Commission, specifying –
(a) the date, not less than 8 weeks later, on which the election shall
be held;
(b) the date on or before which each writ is returnable to the King,
advising the result of the election; and
(c) the places appointed pursuant to section 3(3) of the Legislative
Assembly Act, and the time in each electoral constituency at
which the Electoral Commission shall receive the votes of the
electors.
(2) The text of every writ of election shall be published in the Gazette and
at least one newspaper having wide circulation and it shall be the duty
of the Electoral Commission to advise all electors within each electoral
constituency of the time and place of the election.”.
10 Section 8 amended – Nominations
(1) Section 8(1) of the Principal Act is amended by –
(a) deleting “the Tonga Chronicle” and substituting “at least one
newspaper having a wide circulation”;
(b) deleting “date” and substituting “day or days”;
(c) deleting “Prime Minister’s Office” and replacing it with “Electoral
Commission Office”;
(d) deleting “Magistrate’s Offices” and substituting “Offices of
Government Representatives”.
(2) Section 8(2) of the Principal Act is deleted an replaced with –
“(2) The day or days so fixed shall not be less than 21 or more than 28 days
after the day on which the writ is received. A maximum of 2
consecutive days may be fixed for the purpose of this section.”.
11 Section 9 amended - Candidates
Section 9 of the Principal Act is amended –
(a) in subsection (1), by inserting “or days” after “day”;
(b) in subsection (2), by inserting the following at the end:
“In accordance with clause 65 of the Constitution, a candidate may nominate
as a candidate only in the electoral constituency where he is registered as an
elector.”;
(c) in subsection (3), in the first sentence, by deleting “$200” and substituting
“$400”;
Electoral (Amendment) Act 2010 Section 12
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Act No.13 of 2010 Page 9
(d) in subsection (3), by deleting the last two sentence and substituting it with
“A deposit paid by a candidate shall not be refunded in any circumstances.”;
(e) deleting subsection (4) and substituting –
“(4) A candidate shall, before completing his nominat on, deliver to
the returning officer a written clearance from theSupreme Court and
Magistrates Court to the effect that the Supreme Court and Magistrates
Court has no record of an outstanding order as specified in clause 65 of
the Constitution relating to the candidate.”;
(f) in subsection (5) by inserting “on the last day” fter “3p.m.”.
12 Section 9A amended – Withdrawal of nomination
Section 9A(1) of the Principal Act is amended by deleting “14 clear days before
polling day” and substituting “7 days after the receipt of the nomination of
candidates”.
13 Section 12 amended – Procedure on voting
Section 12 of the Principal Act is amended by deleting subsection (3) and
substituting –
“(3) After checking against the final roll that the elector is entitled to vote, and the
identity of the elector in accordance with any regulations made under this Act,
the returning officer shall mark against the elector's name on the roll the same
number as is marked on the ballot paper and then hand the ballot paper to
him.”.
14 Section 16 amended - Counting
Section 16 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following at the end of
subsection (2) –
“Provided that at an election for representatives of the Nobles, a candidate shall be
entitled to withdraw from the contest before the toss f the coin.”.
15 Section 17 amended - Recounts
Section 17(5) of the Principal Act is amended by –
(a) deleting “$300” and substituting “$1,000”; and
(b) deleting paragraph (a) and renumbering the remaining paragraphs
accordingly.
Section 16 Electoral (Amendment) Act 2010
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16 Section 19 amended – False impersonation
Section 19(1) of the Principal Act is amended by deleting “$2,000” and substituting
“$5,000”.
17 Sections 20, 21, 22 and 23 amended – Fines
The Principal Act is amended as follows –
(a) in section 20(1) by deleting “$1,000” and substituting “$3,000”;
(b) in section 21(4) by deleting “$2,000” and substituting “$5,000”;
(b) in section 22(2) by deleting “$2,000” and substituting “$5,000”; and
(c) in section 23(6) by deleting “$1,000” and substituting “$3,000”.
18 Section 23 amended – General offences
Section 23(1) (c) of the Principal Act is amended by deleting –
“At any time on polling day before the close of thepoll makes any statement having
direct or indirect reference to the poll by means of any loudspeaker or public address
apparatus or cinematograph or television, video or radio apparatus”, and substituting
–
“At any time on polling day before the close of the poll or within 24 hours before
the start of the poll makes any statement having direct or indirect reference to the
poll by means of any loudspeaker or public address apparatus or cinematograph or
television, video or radio apparatus.”.
19 Section 24 amended – Permitted election expenses
Section 24(4) of the Principal Act is amended by deleting “one month” and
substituting “14 days”.
20 Section 26 amended – Election petitions
Section 26(2) of the Principal Act is amended by deleting “Supervisor of Elections”
and replacing it with “Chairman of the Electoral Commission”.
21 Section 41 amended – Regulations
Section 41 of the Electoral Act is amended by –
(a) deleting “Prime Minister, with the consent of His Majesty in Council,” and
substituting “Electoral Commission with the approval of Cabinet”; and
(b) deleting subparagraph (h) and replacing it with –
Electoral (Amendment) Act 2010 Section 22
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“(h) to provide for the use of a national identity card to assist in the
identification of electors and applicants for registration of electors.”.
22 Section 42 repealed – Transitional
Section 42 of the Principal Act is repealed.
23 Schedule 1 amended, new Form 1
The Schedule to the Principal Act is amended by deleting Form 1 and replacing it
with the form in the Schedule to this Act.
24 Temporary provisions for next election
(1) For the purposes of the first election held after the commencement of this Act
–
(a) section 4(2)(b) of the Principal Act shall not apply;
(b) section 5(1) of the Principal Act is amended by deleting “Not less than
6 months before the date when an election must be held” and
substituting “By 15 July 2010”;
(c) section 5(2) of the Principal Act is amended by deleting “within 2
months of the publication of the provisional roll” and substituting “by
10 August 2010”;
(d) section 5(3) is amended by deleting “any person dissatisfied with the
Supervisor’s decision or who claims that no decision was made to a
valid objection, may appeal in writing to the Electoral Appeal
Committee” and substituting “the Supervisor’s decision shall be final”;
(e) section 5(4) of the Principal Act is amended by deleting “not more than
4 months nor less than 2 months from the date set for an election” and
substituting “by 9 September 2010”.
(2) For the purposes of the first election held after the commencement of this Act,
and to form the basis of the electoral roll to be us d in such election and
subsequent elections, every Tongan subject qualified as an elector under
clause 64 of the Constitution shall apply under section 4(3) and (4) (or re-
apply as the case may be) to be registered as an elector in the electoral
constituency (being one of the 17 electoral constituencies determined under
the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act 2010) where he has been resident
for the previous 6 months:
Provided that for the purposes of the first election held after the
commencement of this Act, section 4(4)(a) shall incude the following clause
–
Section 25 Electoral (Amendment) Act 2010
Page 12 Act No.13 of 2010
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“(iii) the electoral constituency where he satisfie the Supervisor he is
likely to be resident for the period of 3 months befor 25
November 2010;”.
25 Transitional
(1) For the purposes of the first election to be held after the commencement of
this Act the Electoral Commission, with the consent of Cabinet, may make
regulations to –
(a) provide for any matter considered necessary or desirable to obtain the
most correct electoral roll for use in such election;
(b) provide transitional arrangements for election officials and facilities to
be used in such election; and
(c) generally to ensure that such election is planned and carried out with
clarity, certainty, efficiency and fairness.
(2) For the purposes of section 3(1) of the Principal Act, until the Electoral
Commission appoints a Supervisor of Elections, the Supervisor of Elections in
office when this Act commences shall remain in office on his existing terms.
Passed by the Legislative Assembly this 15th day of April 2010.
Electoral (Amendment) Act 2010 SCHEDULE
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Act No.13 of 2010 Page 13
SCHEDULE
THE ELECTORAL ACT, 1989
Form 1 (Section 4(3))
Claim to be registered as an elector
To the Supervisor of Elections
I hereby claim to have my name inserted in the register of electors for the electoral constituency of:
……………………………………………. …………………………………………
Surname: …………………………………………………………………….……
Maiden name: ………………………………………………………………..……
First name: ……………………………………………………………………..…
Middle name(s): ……………………………………………………………………
Date of birth ( DD/MM/YYYY): …………………………… Sex: ………………..
Place of birth ( electoral constituency, Village or Country, City): ……………………………….
Distinguishing mark(s): ………………………………………………...……………………………
Supporting document type: …………………………… … No.: …………………………………
My qualification is as follows:
• I am a Tongan subject
• I am of the age of 21 years or over
• I have not been convicted of an unpardoned criminal offence punishable by imprisonment
for more than 2 years.
I am resident at (Village name)……………………………….. within the electoral constituency of
…………………………………………………
I hereby declare that the above particulars respecting my claim are true to the best of my knowledge
and belief.
Dated the ……………………….day of ………………………………………… 20 …………
……………………………………
(Signature of Claimant)
Place of previous registration: …………………………… …………………
Registration officer name:…………………………
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (overleaf) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - —
OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Constituency:
Census Block No.:
National ID No.:
Personal ID No.:
Please attach here
one recent
passport photo of
yourself
Voter Registration No.
123456
123456
SCHEDULE Electoral (Amendment) Act 2010
Page 14 Act No.13 of 2010
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THE ELECTORAL ACT, 1989.
FORM 2 (Section 4(3))
Certificate of Registration as an Elector
This is to certify that …………………………………………………….. (here insert full name of elector)
of ……………………………………………………. is a registered elector for the electoral constituency
of ……………………………………………………. (here insert name of electoral constituency) and is
qualified to vote at any election of representatives of the people for that electoral constituency.
Dated the ………………………… day of ………………………………………… 20 ……..
………………………………………………………………….
(Signature of the Supervisor of Elections)
Voter Registration No.
123456
123456
