Clause 22

Subject to subsection (2), no person shall be admitted to vote at any polling station except the one allotted to him.

Where an elector for any electoral division is employed as a presiding officer, police officer, or in any other official capacity at a polling station, and it is inconvenient for him to vote at the polling station which has been allotted to him, the Returning Officer may, by a certificate authorise the elector to vote at any other polling station and that polling station shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be the polling station allotted to that elector.

The certificate referred to in subsection (2) shall be given under the hand of the Returning Officer and shall state the name of the elector, his number and description in the register of electors, and the fact that he is so employed as a presiding officer, police officer or in any other official capacity at a polling station.

Unless the Returning Officer, by notification in the Gazette, appoints any other hour, the poll shall open at 8 a.m. on the day appointed under section 16(5) and shall close at 8 p.m. on that day.

The presiding officer shall keep order in his polling station, regulate the number of voters to be admitted at a time and exclude all other persons except the candidates, the polling agent or agents of each candidate, the Returning Officer and persons authorised in writing by the Returning Officer, the police officers on duty and other persons officially employed at the polling station.

Not more than one polling agent of each candidate shall be admitted to any polling station, except that where, at any polling station, more polling places than one have been established, not more than one polling agent of each candidate shall be admitted to each such polling place.

A polling agent whose name has not been notified to the presiding officer as required by section 45(1) shall not be admitted to a polling station.

If any person misconducts himself in the polling station or fails to obey the lawful orders of the presiding officer, he may immediately by order of the presiding officer be removed from the polling station by any police officer in or near that station or by any other person authorised in writing by the presiding officer or by the Returning Officer to remove him; and the person so removed shall not, unless with the permission of the presiding officer, again be allowed to enter the polling station.

Any person removed under subsection (8) may, if charged with the commission in a polling station of any offence, be kept in custody until he can be brought before a magistrate.

The powers conferred by this section shall not be exercised so as to prevent any elector who is otherwise entitled to vote at any polling station from having an opportunity of voting at that station.