Referendum (Amendment) Act, 1946

Appointment of deputy local returning officers.

5.—(1) Where at a referendum the same person is the local returning officer for two or more constituencies, he shall, under Rule 1 of the First Schedule to the Principal Act,—

(a) in case those constituencies are two and no more, appoint, in respect of one of them, a deputy local returning officer to open the ballot boxes and count the votes,

(b) in any other case, appoint, in respect of each of the constituencies (except one), a deputy local returning officer to open the ballot boxes and count the votes,

and every deputy local returning officer so appointed in respect of a constituency shall open the ballot boxes and count the votes cast at the referendum in that constituency.

(2) Where at a referendum the local returning officer for a constituency is prevented by illness or other reasonable cause from conducting the referendum in such constituency, he may, under Rule 1 of the First Schedule to the Principal Act, appoint a deputy local returning officer to carry out all or any of his duties, and any deputy local returning officer so appointed shall carry out the duties for which he is appointed.

(3) No person shall be appointed a deputy local returning officer under subsection (1) or subsection (2) of this section whose proposed appointment is not approved of by the Minister.