XN000022-1972-10-13 — Page 4

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Friday, October 13, 1972

POWER TO DECLARE POLL VOID

A bill, seeking to empower the presiding officer of a polling

station to declare the poll at his station void in certain circumstances,

was published in the Government Gazette today.

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The bill, entitled the Urban Council (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill

1972, will be introduced into the Legislative Council shortly.

If enacted, it will confer authority on the Governor in Council

to make regulations giving the presiding officer this power.

This is considered necessary following an incident in the

Urban Council Election last year when one of the polling stations in

Kowloon was burgled on the night before the election.

During that incident, the store in which the ballot papers

were kept was ransacked. However, the ballot papers and other election

documents were left intact and in their original seals.

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