CO882-10 — Page 474

Qualification of joint owners.

Qualification of European (Urban) Voters.

Qualification of European (Rural)

Voters.

Qualification of voters for Com- mercial Con. stituency.

Qualification of Burgher Voters.

Qualification for the Western

Province (Ceylon Tamil) Con. stituency. Qualification of voters for general

constituencies.

Returning Officers.

Notifications of Election.

published in the Government Gazette calling upon all desirous of having their names entered in the Register of Voters to persons forward their claims to the registering officer.

XXVII. In the case of qualifying property possessed or occu- pied jointly by two or more persons, each such person not being a usufructuary mortgagee shall be qualified to have his name entered on the register of voters, provided the number of persons does not exceed the number obtained by dividing the annual value of such property by four hundred if it is situated within the limits of any Municipal, Local Board or Sanitary Board town, or of any Urban District Council, and by two hundred if situated elsewhere.

XXVIII. Any European not otherwise disqualified shall be qualified to have his name entered on the register of voters for the European (Urban) Electorate if he is resident within the municipal limits of Columbo, Kandy or Galle.

XXIX. Any European, not otherwise disqualified, shall be qualified to have his name entered on the register of voters for the European (Rural) Electorate if he is resident in Ceylon outside the Municipal limits of Columbo, Kandy or Galle.

XXX. Every Member of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, not otherwise disqualified, shall be qualified to have his name entered on the register for the Commercial Electorate.

XXXI. Any person, not otherwise disqualified, shall be qualified to have his name entered on the register of voters for the Burgher Electorate if he-

(a) is the descendant in the male line of a European who, on or before the Fifteenth day of February, 1796, was in the service or under the rule of the Dutch East India Company of Ceylon, or is descended from any such descendant in the female line by marriage with a European; or

(b) is of legitimate birth, and is descended in the female line from any such descendant as aforesaid, and is able to speak, read and write the English language.

XXXII. Any Ceylon Tamil, not otherwise disqualified, shall be qualified to have his name entered on the register of voters for the Western Province (Tamil) Constituency if he is resident within the Western Province.

XXXIII. Any person, not otherwise disqualified, shall be qualified to have his name entered on the register of voters for any constituency mentioned in subheads (v) to (ix) (both inclusive) and (xi) to (xxvii) (both inclusive) of Article 19 (1) of this Order.

XXXIV. (1) The Governor shall from time to time appoint a fit and proper person to be the returning officer of each constituency, and

any time cancel any such appointment. may at

(2) If any returning officer shall, by sickness or other cause, be prevented or disabled from acting, or shall refuse or neglect to act at any election, the Governor may at any time appoint some fit and proper person to act in the place of such returning officer at such election.

(3) Every appointment of a returning officer shall be valid until his death, or until such appointment shall be cancelled by, the Governor.

(4) Every appointment or cancellation of appointment of a returning officer shall be notified in the Government Gazette.

XXXV. (1) For the purpose of every general election of Members of the Council, and for the purpose of the election of Members

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to supply vacancies caused by death, resignation, or otherwise, the Governor shall, by notification in the Government Gazette, appoint a convenient date, not being less than fourteen days after the publi- cation of the notification.

(2) Every such notification shall specify the place or places of election.

XXXVI.---(1) Such elections shall be by ballot, and shall be held Procedure at in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the rules contained Elections. in Schedule II of this Order.

(2) The returning officer or any officer presiding at a polling booth may in his discretion, and shall, if required by any candidate, put to any voter, at the time of his applying for a ballot paper, the following questions or either of them, and no other :-

1st. Are you the same person whose name appears as A.B. on the Register of Voters now in force for this electorate? 2nd. Have you already voted, either here or elsewhere, for the election of a member for this electorate?

(3) If any person refuses to answer any such question so put to him, the returning or presiding officer may refuse to give him a ballot paper.

(4) If any person wilfully makes a false answer to any such ques- tion so put to him, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment of either description for any term not exceeding one year.

XXXVII—(1) A petition complaining of an undue return or Election undue election of a Member of the Council, in this Order called an petitions. election petition, may at any time within fifteen days of the publica- tion of the result of such election in the Government Gazette, be presented to the Supreme Court by any one or more of the following persons, that is to say:

i. Some person who voted or had a right to vote at the election to which the petition relates;

ii. Some person claiming to have had a right to be returned or elected at such election;

iii. Some person alleging himself to have been a candidate at such election.

(2) Every election petition shall be tried by a Judge of the Supreme Court; and, at the conclusion of the trial, the Judge shall determine whether the Member of the Council whose return or election is complained of, or any other or what person, was duly returned or elected, or whether the election was void, and shall certify such determination to the Governor. Upon such certificate being given, such determination shall be final; and the return shall be confirmed or altered, or the Governor shall by notification, in manner herein- before provided, appoint another date for the election of a Member for the constituency concerned, as the case may require, in accordance with such certificate.

(3) Such Judge shall have the same powers, jurisdiction and authority as are possessed and exercised by a District Judge for summoning or compelling the attendance of witnesses at the trial of an election petition, and witnesses shall be sworn or affirmed in the same manner, as near as circumstances will admit, as in the trial of a civil action in a District Court, and shall be subject to the same penalties for the giving of false evidence.

(4) No voter who has voted at any election shall, in any proceed- ing to question the election be required to state for whom he has voted.

(5) The Governor in Executive Council may make rules providing (a) For the deposit or giving by a petitioner of security to an amount not exceeding Rs. 5,000, for the payment of all

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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

TĮ

C.O.

Reference :--

882 /10

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