Electoral Act, 1997
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Offences and penalties (Part VI). |
61.—(1) A person shall be guilty of an offence if, at a presidential election, the person— | |
(a) incurs election expenses, or | ||
(b) makes any payment, advance or deposit in respect of such expenses, | ||
on behalf of a candidate at that election, unless the person is the presidential election agent of the candidate at the election or a person authorised by such agent, acting within the limit of such authorisation. | ||
(2) The presidential election agent of a candidate shall be guilty of an offence if at a presidential election the said agent— | ||
(a) directly or through any other person, incurs election expenses in excess of the amount specified in an order for the time being in force under section 53 , or | ||
(b) in contravention of section 54 , pays any claim in respect of election expenses, or | ||
(c) fails to furnish to the Public Offices Commission, within the period specified for this purpose, a statement of election expenses or a statutory declaration under section 56 , or | ||
(d) furnishes to the Public Offices Commission a statement of election expenses which, to the agent's knowledge, is false or misleading in a material respect, or | ||
(e) fails otherwise to comply with the provisions of section 56 , or | ||
(f) fails to furnish the presidential election donation statement or make the statutory declaration required by section 48 within the period specified in that section, or | ||
(g) knowingly furnishes a presidential election donation statement or makes a statutory declaration under the said section 48 which is false or misleading in any material respect. | ||
(3) A person to whom section 52 (6) applies shall be guilty of an offence if at a presidential election he or she— | ||
(a) fails to notify the Public Offices Commission in accordance with that subsection of his or her intention to incur election expenses, or | ||
(b) fails to furnish to the Public Offices Commission, within the period specified for this purpose, a statement of election expenses or a statutory declaration pursuant to section 56 , or | ||
(c) furnishes to the Public Offices Commission a statement of election expenses which, to the person's knowledge, is false or misleading in a material respect, or | ||
(d) fails otherwise to comply with section 56 . | ||
(4) A person shall be guilty of an offence if he or she publishes in a newspaper, magazine or other periodical publication of which he or she is publisher an advertisement or notice in relation to a presidential election purporting to promote or oppose the interests of a candidate at that election at the request of any person other than a candidate or the presidential election agent of a candidate, or a person authorised in writing by such candidate or agent, unless that person produces to the said publisher a certificate from the Public Offices Commission referred to in section 52 (9). | ||
(5) Where a person is guilty of an offence under this section— | ||
(a) the person shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000, | ||
(b) the person shall be liable, where the offence is an offence referred to in subsection 2 (d) or (g) or subsection 3 (c), on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding £20,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 3 years or to both such fine and such imprisonment, and | ||
(c) where the conviction relates to failure to furnish a presidential election donation statement under section 48 or a statement of election expenses under section 56 , the person shall be guilty of a further offence on every day on which the failure continues after such conviction and for each such offence the person shall be liable on summary conviction, to a fine, not exceeding £100. | ||
(6) It shall be a defence to a prosecution under subsection (2) (a) to show that a person did not know and could not reasonably have known that he or she incurred election expenses above the specified limit. | ||
(7) Proceedings for an offence under this Part shall not be instituted except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions. |