Clause 44

Subject to this section and section 102B, the Minister may make regulations to enable contingency arrangements to be put in place, should they be required, to enable a Returning Officer to conduct safe, orderly, efficient and timely elections in one or more electoral divisions and support the resilience of Singapore’s democracy, because of a disruptive event which —

has occurred or is likely to occur, before or during any stage of an election, in Singapore or in a country where there is established one or more overseas polling stations; and

prevents or seriously interrupts, or is likely to prevent or seriously interrupt, the conduct of the election according to the provisions of this Act.(2) Regulations made under subsection (1) may modify (so far as relevant) the application of any provision of this Act, or any regulations made under section 47C or 56F, to the conduct of nomination proceedings or a poll, or the counting at any counting place or principal counting place of votes cast, for an election in an electoral division because of a disruptive event.(3) Regulations made under subsection (1) may include providing for, or providing for the determination personally by the Returning Officer of —

a change in —

the hours of those nomination proceedings, or of the conduct of the poll or the counting of votes cast, for an election in an electoral division; or

the address of a place of nomination, polling station, counting place or principal counting place;

any of the following in relation to those nomination proceedings:

a temporary suspension (not exceeding 2 hours);

a postponement or an adjournment and postponement of the day of nomination to a date no later than one month after the date of the writ;

any of the following in relation to voting at the poll at one or more polling stations:

a temporary suspension (not exceeding 2 hours);

an adjournment and postponement of voting at the poll to a date no later than the 56th day after the date of publication of the notice of contested election in the Gazette under section 34(6)(d) or 34A(6)(d), as the case may be;

abandoning the poll and restarting it on a date no later than the 56th day after the date of publication of the notice of contested election in the Gazette under section 34(6)(d) or 34A(6)(d), as the case may be;

ending voting early;

any of the following in relation to the counting at one or more counting places or a principal counting place of votes cast:

a temporary suspension (not exceeding 2 hours);

an adjournment and postponement of counting of votes cast to a date no later than the 56th day after the date of publication of the notice of contested election in the Gazette under section 34(6)(d) or 34A(6)(d), as the case may be;

abandoning the counting and restarting voting at the poll and counting of votes cast no later than the 56th day after the date of publication of the notice of contested election in the Gazette under section 34(6)(d) or 34A(6)(d), as the case may be;

abandoning the counting of votes cast at any polling station —

if any sealed ballot box containing votes cast at a polling station in the election is, because of a disruptive event, lost or destroyed at any time —

after the close of the poll at a polling station; and

before the ballot box could reach the counting place specified under this Act for the counting of the votes cast at the polling station; or

for any other reason,but only if the number of votes likely to have been cast at the polling station will not affect the result of the election;

wholly abandoning the poll at an overseas polling station in a foreign country or a special polling station in a nursing home because voting in person thereat cannot start or be resumed or completed due to special circumstances in the foreign country or nursing home, as the case may be;

any alternate method of voting by electors at the poll except that any alternate method of voting must be such that an elector casting his or her vote using that method for an election —

receives the same information (in the same order), and has the same voting options, as would appear in the ballot paper for the election that the person would be given if he or she were instead voting in person under sections 39 and 42; and

is able to indicate his or her vote in a way that, if he or she were instead marking a ballot paper in person, would satisfy the requirements of section 42;

the giving of public notice of —

any change, suspension, adjournment and postponement, abandonment, new start or resumption mentioned in paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d), as the case may be;

any abandoning of voting or the counting of votes mentioned in paragraph (e) or (f); and

any alternate method of voting mentioned in paragraph (g); and

the witnessing or attesting to any thing (but not voting) through the use of remote communication technology, such as by video conferencing, tele‑conferencing or other electronic means.(4) Regulations made under subsection (1) —

must not authorise any person to vote —

more than once at any election in or in respect of the same electoral division in which he or she is registered as an elector;

in or in respect of an electoral division other than the electoral division in which he or she is registered as an elector; and

in or in respect of more than one electoral division at any general election;

must provide for a record of every vote cast at a polling station but the vote record must not contain any means of identifying the person who cast the vote;

must make provision for, or in relation to, how this Act applies in relation to votes cast using an alternate method of voting; and

must be consistent with the principles laid down in any provision of the Act that is modified by those regulations.(5) Regulations made under subsection (1) may make different provisions in relation to different classes of voters affected differently by the same disruptive event occurring or about to occur at an election.(6) However, nothing in this section limits or affects, or authorises the making of regulations that limit or affect, the operation of section 26.(7) In this section —“counting”, of votes cast at an election, includes recounting and adding votes cast at the election;“disruptive event” means —

riot or open violence;

the threat of riot or open violence;

a storm, flood, eruption, earthquake, landslip or an occurrence (natural or otherwise) of a similar kind;

a health hazard;

a fire or a poor air quality episode involving smoke, or the activation of fire safety equipment (such as sprinklers or alarms);

the releasing into the environment or any part of the environment or otherwise exposing the public to any toxic chemical or any dangerous, hazardous, radioactive or harmful substance;

an accident associated with the operation of an aircraft, vessel, train or public passenger transport motor vehicle where the aircraft, vessel, train or public passenger transport motor vehicle is destroyed or damaged, or missing or completely inaccessible;

an unplanned and prolonged outage of any telecommunication or electricity service, or an information and communications system, which is essential for the proper conduct of an election according to the provisions of this Act; and

anything else related —

to the safety of persons authorised to be present at a place of nomination, polling station, counting place or principal counting place; or

to difficulties in the physical conduct of nomination proceedings, a poll, or the counting or recounting of votes at any counting place or principal counting place, for an electoral division at the election;“nomination proceedings” includes —

proceedings for the Returning Officer to receive nomination papers;

proceedings for the making of objections to any nomination paper;

proceedings where a candidate must make his or her deposit for the purposes of section 28, may correct errors in the nomination papers and may withdraw his or her candidature; and

proceedings by which a candidate may make his or her indication (regarding his or her name) to the Returning Officer under section 105(1).Presentation to Parliament, etc.102B.—

All regulations made under this Act must be presented to Parliament as soon as possible after publication in the Gazette.(2) Where a writ of election has been issued under section 24 for an election in any electoral division, no regulations may be made under this Act until after the day of nomination or, if a poll is to be taken, until after polling day of that election.”.