POLL: How much of these sections of the Representation of the Peoples Act CAP. 9, do you think have been violated today at the Cayo North bi-elections? 31.-(1) No person shall furnish or supply any loudspeaker, bunting, ensign, banner, standard or set of colours, or any flag, other than the national flag, to any person with intent that it shall be carried, worn or used as political propaganda, on polling day, and no person shall, with any such intent, carry, wear or use, any such loudspeaker, bunting, ensign, banner, standard or set of colours, or any flag, other than the national flag, on polling day. (2) No person shall furnish or supply any flag, ribbons, label or like favour to or for any person with intent that it be worn or used by any person within any division on polling day, as a party badge to distinguish the wearer as the supporter of any candidate, or of the political or other opinions entertained or supposed to be entertained by such candidate, and no person shall use or wear any flag, ribbon, label, or other favour, as such badge, within any division n polling day. (3) Nothing contained in either subsection (1) or subsection (2) of this section shall be deemed to extend to the furnishing or supplying of any banner bearing only the name of any candidate or any political party or only such name preceded by the words “Vote for” or similar words or of any rosette or to the use of any such banner on any vehicle or of any such rosette. (4) No person shall on polling day do any of the following acts within any division in which a poll is being taken- (a) organise, hold or participate in any meeting, or organise, lead or participate in any procession, of five or more persons; (b) accost, or solicit or canvass his vote from any elector who has already joined the line of voters waiting to vote at any polling station. (5) Any person who contravenes any of the provisions of this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding two hundred and fifty dollars or to imprisonment for any term not exceeding six months. 32.-(1) The following persons shall be deemed guilty of bribery within the meaning of this Act- (a) every person who, directly or indirectly by himself or by any other person on his behalf, gives, lends or agrees to give or lend, or offers, promises, or promises to procure or to endeavour to procure, any money or valuable consideration to or for any voter, or to or for any person on behalf of any voter, or to or for any other person, in order to induce any voter to vote or refrain from voting, or corruptly does any such act as aforesaid on account of that voter having voted or refrained from voting at any election; (b) every person who directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, gives or procures, or agrees to give or procure or to endeavour to procure, any office, place, or employment to or for any voter, or to or for any person on behalf of that voter, or to or for any other person, in order to induce that voter to vote or refrain from voting, or corruptly does any such act as aforesaid on account of any voter having voted or refrained from voting at any election; (c) every person who directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, makes any such gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement or agreement as aforesaid to or for any person in order to induce that person to procure, or to endeav- our to procure, the return of any person as an elected member of the House of Representatives or the vote of any voter at any election; (d) every person who, upon or in consequence of any gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement or agreement, procures, or engages, promises or endeavours to persuade the return of any person as an elected member of the House of Representatives or the vote of any voter at any election; (e) every person who advances or pays, or causes to be paid, any money to or for the use of any other person , with the intent that that money, or any part thereof, shall be expended in bribery at any election, or who knowingly pays, or causes to be paid any money to any person, in discharge or repayment of any money wholly or in part expended in bribery at any election; (f) every voter who, before or during any election, directly or indi- rectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, receives, agrees, or contracts for, any money, gift, loan or valuable con- sideration, office, place or employment, for himself or for any other person, for voting or agreeing to vote, or for refraining or agreeing to refrain from voting at any election; (g) every person who, after any election, directly or indirectly, by himself or any other person on his behalf, receives any money or valuable consideration on account of any person having voted or refrained from voting or having induced any other person to vote or refrain from voting at any election. (2) No person shall be guilty of bribery under subsection (1) who gives to any other person any article not exceeding twenty dollars in value. 33. The following persons shall be deemed guilty of treating within the meaning of this Act- (a) every person who corruptly, by himself or by any other per- son, either before, during, or after any election, directly or indi- rectly gives or provides, pays, wholly or in part, the expenses of giving or providing any food, drink, entertainment, or provi- sion to or for any person for the purpose of corruptly influenc- ing that person, or any other person, to vote or refrain from voting at that election, or on account of that person or any other person having voted or refrained from voting at the elec- tion; (b) every voter who corruptly accepts or takes the food, drink, entertainment or provision aforesaid. 34. Every person who, directly or indirectly, by himself or any other person on his behalf- (a) makes use, or threatens to make use, of any force, violence or restraint, or inflicts or threatens to inflict, any temporal or spiri tual 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 voting, at any election, or (b) by abduction, duress, or any fraudulent contrivance impedes or prevents the free exercise of the franchise of any voter, or thereby compels, induces or prevails upon any voter either to give or refrain from giving his vote at any election, is guilty of undue influence within the meaning of this Act. 35. Every person who at any election applies for a ballot paper or tenders a vote, in the name of another person whether the name is the name of a person living or dead, or of a fictitious person or who having voted at an election, applies for a ballot paper or tenders a vote at the same election in his own name, to which he is not entitled or which he is not entitled to tender by any law in force or by this Act, is guilty of personation. 36.-(1) Every person who is guilty of bribery, treating or undue influence shall be guilty of a corrupt practice, and is liable on summary conviction thereof, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding one year, or to a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or to both such fine and period of imprisonment. (2) Every person who is guilty of personation or of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of the offence of personation, shall be guilty of a corrupt practice, and is liable, on summary conviction thereof, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding two years. 37. Every person who- (a) votes or induces, or procures any person to vote, at any elec- tion, knowing that he or that person is prohibited by this Act, or by any law in force, from voting at that election; or b) before or during any election, knowingly publishes any false state- ment of the withdrawal of a candidate at the election for the pur- pose of promoting or procuring the election of another candi- date; or (c) before or during any election, for the purpose of affecting the return of any candidate at such election, makes or publishes any false statement of fact in relation to the personal character or conduct of such candidate; or (d) between the date of notification by the Chief Elections Officer of the issue by the Governor-General of a writ for the purposes of an election and the day after polling at such election, whether in a general election or in a by-election, acts in a disorderly manner with intent to prevent the transaction of the business of a public meeting called for the purpose of promoting the election of a candidate as a member to serve in the House of Representa- tives, shall be guilty of an illegal practice, and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, and, in default, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding twelve months. 38.-(1) Every person who- (a) forges or counterfeits, or fraudulently defaces, or fraudu lently destroys, any nomination paper, or delivers to the presiding of ficer any nomination paper, knowing the same to be forged; or (b) forges or counterfeits, or fraudulently defaces, or destroys, any ballot paper or the official mark on any ballot paper; or (c) without due authority, supplies a ballot paper to any person; or (d) fraudulently puts into any ballot box any paper other than the ballot paper which he is authorised by law to put in; or (e) fraudulently takes out of a polling station any ballot paper; or (f) without due authority destroys, takes, opens, or otherwise in- terferes with any ballot box or packet of ballot papers then in use for the purpose of any election, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and shall be liable, if he is a presiding officer or clerk employed at the polling station, to a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars, or to imprisonment for any term not exceeding five years, and, if he is any other person, to a fine, on summary conviction, not exceeding one thousand dollars, or to imprisonment for any term not exceeding three years.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 19:47:14 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015