ElectoralRegulations2010v7







C
T

ELECTORAL REGULATIONS 2010





Electoral Regulations 2010 Arrangement of Regulations





to
Page 3




C
T

ELECTORAL REGULATIONS 2010

Arrangement of Regulations
Regulation

1 Oath of Office - Electoral Officers, Returning Officers, and persons acting
for the Electoral Commission ..................................................................... 5

2 Retention of the Roll of Electors ...................................................................... 5
3 Keeping of Ballot Boxes and Ballot Papers ........................................................... 6
4 Special assistance to Blind or Physically Handicapped Electors ........................... 6
5 Provision of Identity Card ............................................................................ 6
6 Printing and publication of electoral advertisements, otices etc. ......................... 7
7 Publication of electoral advertisements on the internet ......................................... 8
8 Elector to vote at a designated polling station ....... ............................................ 8
9 Voting by Commission staff ........................................................................ 8
10 Death of a Candidate ......................................................................................... 8
11 Determination of order of names on a ballot paper ............................................... 9



SCHEDULE 11

OATH OF OFFICE 11



Electoral Regulations 2010 Regulation 1





to
Page 5




C
T

ELECTORAL REGULATIONS 2010


ELECTORAL ACT 1989

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by section 41 of the Electoral Act
1989, the Electoral Commission with the approval of Cabinet makes the

following Regulations:

1 Oath of Office - Electoral Officers, Returning Officers, and persons
acting for the Electoral Commission

(1) All persons holding a position within the Electoral Commission or acting on
behalf of or for the Electoral Commission shall take an oath of office.

(2) The oath shall be administered by a Commissioner of the Electoral
Commission, where practical to do so. Where the person is remote to the
Commission the oath may be administered by a Magistr te, Police Officer or
Member of the Clergy.

(3) Completed oaths shall be forwarded to the Commission and be retained by the
Commission until the officer or person acting is no longer in or acting for the
Commission.

(4) The oath of office shall be in the form set outin the Schedule.

2 Retention of the Roll of Electors

(1) The roll used at a polling station on polling day shall be returned to the
Commission after the close of the poll in accordance with the instructions
issued by the Supervisor of Elections or the Commission.

(2) The roll of electors used at polling stations i each constituency at the election
of the Legislative Assembly shall be destroyed 6 months after the date of the
election unless there is a Petition under Part V ofthe Act.

Regulation 3 Electoral Regulations 2010





Page 6
to



(3) Where there is a petition under Part V of the Act, the roll(s) of electors for
that constituency or constituencies, as the case may be, shall be retained until
the outcome of the Petition is known and avenues of appeal exhausted.

3 Keeping of Ballot Boxes and Ballot Papers

(1) The Commission shall retain all Ballot Boxes from one election until the next
in good order and securely stored.

(2) The Commission shall, as the need arises, repair or replace Ballot Boxes.

(3) The Commission shall decide the size, shape and material of ballot boxes used
in elections.

(4) The ballot papers for each constituency at the election of the Legislative
Assembly shall be destroyed 6 months after the dateof the election unless
there is a Petition under Part V of the Act.

(5) Where there is a Petition under Part V, the ballot papers for that constituency
or constituencies, as the case may be, shall be retained until the outcome of
the Petition is known and avenues of appeal exhausted.

4 Special assistance to Blind or Physically Handicapped Electors

(1) Where any voter satisfies the returning officer that his sight is so impaired or
that the voter is so physically handicapped that he is unable to vote without
assistance, the returning officer or an assistant returning officer shall assist the
voter.

(2) The voter and the returning officer or assistant returning officer shall enter an
unoccupied voting cubicle and at the voter’s directon he returning officer or
assistant returning officer shall mark, fold, and deposit the voter's ballot paper
into a ballot box.

(3) The assistance of an elector shall be observed by the police officer stationed at
the polling station.

(4) Should a police officer not be within the polling station or be otherwise
engaged the assistance to the elector and the marking of their vote shall be
observed by a person nominated by the voter, who cannot be a candidate for
election.

5 Provision of Identity Card

(1) An elector on polling day shall, at the time of having their name checked
against the roll at the polling station, produce to the Returning Officer their
National Identity Card.

(2) An elector who is not able to produce their National Identity Card as he have
lost, misplaced or cannot locate it and cannot produce another form of identity

Electoral Regulations 2010 Regulation 6





to
Page 7




satisfactory to the Returning Officer is to follow the requirements of section
14 of the Electoral Act.

6 Printing and publication of electoral advertisements, notices etc.

(1) A person shall not print, publish or distribute or cause, permit or authorize to
be printed, published or distributed, an electoral advertisement, handbill,
pamphlet, poster or notice unless:

(a) the name and address of the person who authorized the advertisement,
handbill, pamphlet, poster or notice appears at the end thereof; and

(b) in the case of an electoral advertisement, handbill, pamphlet, poster or
notice that is printed otherwise than in a newspaper, th name and place
of business of the printer appears at the end thereof.

(2) A person shall not produce, publish or distribute or cause, permit or authorise
to be produced, published or distributed during the election period a radio or
video recording unless the name and address of the person who authorised the
radio or video recording appears at the end of it.

(3) A person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) commits an offence and shall
be liable upon conviction to:

(a) if the offender is a natural person, a fine not exceeding $1,000;

(b) if the offender is a body corporate, to a fine not exceeding $5,000.

(4) Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to:

(a) T-shirt, lapel button, lapel badge, pen, pencil or balloon;

(b) business or visiting cards that promote the candidacy of any person in
an election for the Legislative Assembly; or

(c) letters and cards: that bear the name and address of the sender, and that
do not contain a representation or purported represntation of a ballot
paper for use in an election for the Legislative Assembly.

(5) In this section:

“address” of a person means an address , including a full street and Village or
locality, at which the person can usually be contacted during the day. It does
not include a post office box.

“electoral advertisement, handbill, pamphlet, poster or notice” means an
advertisement, handbill, pamphlet, poster or notice hat contains electoral
matter, but does not include an advertisement in a newspaper announcing the
holding of a meeting.

“electoral matter” means matter which is intended or likely to affect voting
in an election.

“electoral radio or video recording” means a radio or video recording that
contains electoral matter.

Regulation 7 Electoral Regulations 2010





Page 8
to



7 Publication of electoral advertisements on the internet

(1) A person commits an offence if:

(a) either the person publishes an electoral advertisement on the internet or
the person causes, permits or authorises an electoral advertisement to be
published on the internet;

(b) the electoral advertisement is intended to affect voting in an election;

(c) the electoral advertisement is paid for by the person or another person;
and

(d) the name and address of the person who authorised the advertisement
do not appear at the end of the advertisement.

(2) Any person who is convicted of an offence under this regulation shall be
liable to:

(a) if the offender is a natural person, pay a finenot exceeding $1,000; or

(b) if the offender is a body corporate, pay a finenot exceeding $5,000.

(3) In this section:

“address” of a person means an address, including a full street address and
Village or locality, located in Tonga, at which the p rson can usually be
contacted during the day. It does not include a post office box.

8 Elector to vote at a designated polling station

(1) An elector at an election shall only vote at the polling station designated for
his village.

(2) The Commission will inform electors of their designated polling station by
public notice.

(3) There will be a designated polling station in each District for electors residing
there temporarily and on the roll in another District.

9 Voting by Commission staff

An elector at an election who is a Returning Officer or an Assistant Returning
Officer at a polling station may vote at either –

(a) the polling station designated for his village; or

(b) the polling station where he is situated on polling day.

10 Death of a Candidate

(1) Where a candidate for election in a Constituency dies between the close of
Nominations and the polling day, the election for that Constituency shall
continue.

Electoral Regulations 2010 Regulation 11





to
Page 9




(2) The Supervisor of Elections shall, where possible, arrange for the ballot
papers for the constituency to be reprinted. If that is not possible the
Supervisor of Elections will arrange for the name of the deceased candidate
and the vote circle opposite the name to be struck through on all ballot papers
for that constituency.

(3) Ballot papers reprinted shall have the space wh re the name of the deceased
candidate would have been and the voting circle blacked out.

(4) The Supervisor of Elections shall publicly annou ce the death of the
candidate and arrange with Returning Officers at each polling station in the
constituency to make voters aware of the candidate’s d ath.

11 Determination of order of names on a ballot paper

(1) Under section 9(5) of the Electoral Act a Returning Officer shall determine, if
there are a greater number of candidates than vacant se ts, the order in which
the names of candidates are to appear on ballot papers to be used in the
election.

(2) The position on the ballot paper shall be determined by a draw by lot, with the
number drawn by a candidate being their position on the ballot paper.

(3) The Returning Officer shall, at the close of nominations for the election, at the
place where nominations were received publicly produce and before all
persons present at that place:

(a) a list of the names of candidates, in the order th ir nominations were
received; and

(b) read out that list.

(4) The Returning Officer shall then:

(a) on pieces of paper of equal size, color and textur mark each with a
different number, equal to the number of candidates;

(b) fold each piece paper equally to the same size,each of which is marked
with a different number, and place into a container large enough to
allow all the pieces of paper to move about freely; and

(c) ask each candidate in the order in which they nomi ated to draw from
the container one piece of folded paper and hand it to the Returning
Officer who shall unfold the paper and announce the number, which
shall be the number position the candidate shall appe r on the ballot
paper.

(5) Where the candidate cannot be present they can authorize a person to act for
them. Such authorization shall be in writing and given to the Returning
Officer prior to the draw.

Regulation 11 Electoral Regulations 2010





Page 10
to



(6) Should a candidate not be present and have not authorized a person to act for
them a Police Officer shall draw from the container on behalf of the
candidate.










Made at Nuku’alofa on this 6th day of October 2010.



Electoral Commission



Electoral Regulations 2010 SCHEDULE





to
Page 11




SCHEDULE

(Regulation 1)

OATH OF OFFICE

I, ………………………………………………………………………, swear before
God that I will execute my office or the duties directed or given in accordance with
the Electoral Act, the Electoral Commission Act and the regulations.

I will act only in accordance with the directions required under the relevant Act(s)
and directions or notices given by the Electoral Commission and or the Supervisor
of Elections and no other person or agency.

I shall not engage in political activity or aid or support a candidate standing for
election. So help me God!





……………………………………………………….



Dated this …….............day of ……………………………......................... 20....



Before me………………………………………………………….............(signature)

Position Held………………………………………………………….....................

Sworn at……………………………………………………...........(location or place)