Electoral (Amendment) Act, 1946

Amendment of Part I of the Fifth Schedule to the Principal Act.

3.—Part I of the Fifth Schedule to the Principal Act is hereby amended in the following respects—

(a) by the substitution of the following Rule for Rule 30—

“30. The returning officer for a constituency—

(a) shall appoint, as the place at which the votes will be counted,—

(i) in case the constituency consists wholly or partly of a county borough, some place within the county borough, or

(ii) in any other case, some place within the constituency, but may, with the consent of the Minister (which consent shall not be given unless the Minister is satisfied that there is not, within the constituency, any place available and suitable for the counting of the votes), appoint some place outside, but convenient to, the constituency,

(b) shall count the votes at the place so appointed,

(c) shall, at least forty-eight hours before the hour of 9 o'clock a.m. on the day of the poll, give to the agents of the candidates appointed to attend at the counting of the votes notice in writing of the place so appointed;”

(b) by the deletion, in Rule 32, of the words “Before the returning officer proceeds to count the votes, he shall,” and the substitution therefor of the following, namely, “At the hour of 9 o'clock a.m. on the day after the close of the poll and at the place appointed under Rule 30 of this Part of this Schedule, the returning officer shall”;

(c) by the substitution of the following Rule for Rule 33—

“33. After compliance with Rule 32 of this Part of this Schedule, the returning officer shall forthwith begin to count the votes and, shall so far as practicable, proceed continuously with the counting of the votes allowing only time for refreshment, and excluding (except so far as he and the agents otherwise agree) the hours between eleven o'clock at night and nine o'clock on the succeeding morning. During the excluded time the returning officer shall place the ballot boxes and other documents relating to the election under his own seal and the seals of such of the agents of the candidates as desire to affix their seals, and shall otherwise take proper precautions for the security of such papers and documents.”.