Electoral Act, 1963

PART VII.

Electoral Abuses.

Amendment of Prevention of Electoral Abuses Act, 1923.

90.—(1) In this section “the Act” means the Prevention of Electoral Abuses Act, 1923 .

(2) Subsection (1) of section 6 of the Act is hereby amended by the addition at the end of the subsection of “or, at the discretion of the Court, to be fined an amount not exceeding one thousand pounds or both to be so imprisoned and to be so fined.”

(3) Subsection (2) of section 6 of the Act is hereby amended by the substitution of “five hundred pounds” for “one hundred pounds” in paragraph (a) and for “one hundred pounds” and for “two hundred pounds” in paragraph (b).

(4) (a) The Act is hereby amended by the insertion of the following section after section 13:

“13A. Any person who, before or during any election, makes or publishes any statement which is likely to mislead voters as to the actual process of voting shall be guilty of an illegal practice.”

(b) The reference in section 15 of the Act to the foregoing sections of the Act shall be construed as including a reference to the section inserted in the Act by paragraph (a) of this subsection.

(5) Section 15 of the Act is hereby amended by the substitution of “five hundred pounds or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment” for “one hundred pounds”.

(6) The following subsection is hereby substituted for subsection (1) of section 30 of the Act:

“(1) An election agent may, with respect to each polling district, appoint one deputy agent (and not more) to act within that district, and any reference in this Act to a sub-agent shall be construed as a reference to a deputy agent so appointed.”

(7) The following section is hereby inserted in the Act after section 55 :

“55A. In any civil or criminal proceedings in relation to an alleged corrupt or illegal practice or any other alleged offence at an election, the certificate of the returning officer at an election of the due holding of the election or that a particular person was a candidate thereat shall be prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein and it shall not be necessary to prove the signature of such returning officer or that he was in fact such returning officer.”