"ملف ٩٢/٦ بلدية البحرين: تخطيط المدن - اللوائح الداخلية" [ظ‎‎١‎٢] (٤٤/٢٤)

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shall be challenged merely on the ground that the Polling
Officer in the bona fide exercise of his duties has wrongly;
permitted or refused an elector permission to vote, as a
result of proceedings under any of the provisions of rules
28, 30, and 32.
Cuapter VII. —Conclusion of polling; result of
election; and the custody of election papers
34. Cloture of the polling station. —At the time fixed for
the conclusion of polling, the Polling Officer shall close the
polling station, and allow no other person to vote except
- those already inside.
35. Ballot boxes and other paper to be sealed and
forwarded to the Returning Officer. —As soon as practic
able after the closing of the poll, the Polling Officer shall,
in the presence of such of the candidates and their election
agents as may be in attendance, seal with his own seal
and the seal of such candidates or election agents as may
desire to affix their seals, the slit in the lid of the ballot
box and attach the sealed key thereof to the ballot box.
He shall also enclose in separate packets and seal up in
the same manner: —
(a) the tendered ballot papers,
(b) the unused ballot papers,
(c) the spoilt ballot papers,
(d) the counterfoils of ballot papers,
(e) the signed electoral roll,
(f) the Tendered Votes List,
fg.) the list of challenged votes.
The packets' shall be clearly marked with the name or
number of the polling station and with the particulars of
their contents, and, together with the ballot box and key,
shall be forwarded without delay to the Returning Officer
at the office of the Committee. The Polling Officer shall
also prepare and forward a list of articles despatched to the
Returning Officer and accounting for the ballot papers
received by him and their issue according to item (a), (b),
(c) and (d) of this rule.
36. Counting of votes. —(1) The Returning Officer shall,
the same evening or the next morning, as may be con
venient, at a time announced by him, undertake the
counting of votes and may appoint to assist him such per
sons as may be necessary.
(2) No person shall be appointed to assist in th§ count
ing, Yvho has been employed by or on behalf of any candi
date for any purpose whatsoever connected with the
election.
(3) The only persons allowed to be present, apart from
those counting, shall be the candidates and their election
agents.
37. Opening of ballot boxes and rejected ballot papers .—
(1) The ballot box for each polhng station shall' be opened
separately, and the Returning Officer shall take ouo the
papers thereform, distributing them for counting as he
thinks fit. Where there is more than one polling station
for a ward, the ballot boxes relating the eto shall be opened
and 'counted at the same time or immediately following
one another, keeping the papers separate.
(2) . The Returning Officer shall on every bal.ot paper
which is found invalid endorse the word “rejected” and
shall afford candidates and their election agents reasonable
opportunity to inspect, without handling ail such ballot
papers. If any candidate or election agent questions the
fcorrecthess of the rejection, the Returning Officer shall
ilso record his grounds for rejection on the ballot paper.
(3) Counting of votes shall proceed continuously till
jompleted.
38 Results of the polling. —(1) After the counting has
,een completed, the Returning Officer shall prepare a return
n Form XI of the results of the polling, which shall be
published in the same manner as the notioe_ m rule 7.
The Returning Officer shall also obviously declare to be
derted. the candidate or candidates to whom most valid
votes have been given:
N
Provided that if there is an equality of votes between
any two or more candidates the Returning Officer shall,
after such notice as may be necessary to the cand.dates
concerned, decide by drawing lots which candidate or
candidates he shall declare to have been elected.
(2) The Returning Officer shall submit the return pre
pared in Form XI to the Political Agent immediately after
the declaration of results of the polling.
39. Ballot boxes and papers to be returned to the
'Executive Officer .—The Returning Officer shall replace the
valid ballot papers in the ballot boxes from wh'ch they
have been taken^ and lock and seal the ballot boxes so as
to prevent tampering with them or their contents. Re
shall also seal in separate packets rejected ballot papers
according to polling stations, marking each packet clearly.
Candidates or their election agents may affix their own r
seals if they desire. The Returning Officer shall then send
such ballot boxes and rejected ballot papers, as well as the
sealed packets referred to in rule 35. to the Executive
Officer, together with a list of all articles sent.
40. Custody and preservation of ballot boxes and papers. ’
—(1) Executive Officer shall preserve for a period ol^ne
year all articles sent to him under rule 39, after w^ jh, -
unless the Political Agent sees good reason to the contrary,
he shall, except for the ballot boxes, destroy them.
(2) While in custody of the Executive Officer the ballot
papers (whether valid, rejected or tendered) and the
counterfoils shall not be opened, inspected or produced
anywhere, except under orders in writing of a competent
Court or of the officer enquiring into an election petition.
(3) All other documents in such custody shall be open
for public inspection under the same conditions as other
Municipal documents which may be inspected by the
public.
Chapter VIII. —Election petitions and disputes
41. Election petition- —No election shall be called in
question except by an election petition presented in
accordance with these rules.
42 Officer to whom the petition should be presented .—
A petition calling in question the validity of an election
or the return of a particular candidate may
be presented in writing to the District
Judge or to such judicial officer as the Resident f
for Baluchistan may appoint in this behalf within st. m
days after the date on which the result of the election ^
was declared either by a person who was a candidate at j
the election or by nob less than five persons entitled to ^
vote at the said election:
Provided that no such petition shall be presented on the
ground either that the name of any person qualified to
vote has been omitted from the electoral roll or that the
name of any person not so qualified has been inserted in
the roll.
43. Deposit of security. —Every petition shall be aceom-
pained by a deposit of three hundred rupees in cash or In
Government promissory notes of equal value at the market
rate of the day as security for the costs likely to be
incurred.
44. Enquiry into election. —Where a petition has been
presented under rule 42 and the security deposited as
required by rule 43, the District Judge (or the officer
appointed in. accordance with rule 42) or any Judicial
Officer Subordinate to him and not below such rank as the
Resident for Baluchistan may by notification specify in
this behalf to whom the District Judge may transfer the
petition, shall after notice to all candidates at the elec
tion (other than such of them as may be petiFoners) held
such enquiry as he deems necessary.
45. Powers of enquiring officer. —For the purposes of
an enouirv under rule 44, the enquiring Officer may
summon and enforce the attendance of witnesses and com
pel them to give evidence as if he were a Civil Court, and
may dVe* bv whom the whole or any part of the
costs of the enquiry shall be paid; and such costs shall be
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