Housing and Development (Polling for Upgrading Works) Rules

In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires —

Any reference in these Rules to the commencement of a poll shall be a reference to the first polling day of the poll.

For the purposes of these Rules, the seniority of joint owners of any flat shall be determined by the order in which the names of the joint owners appear in the register, the special register, the flat upgrading works register or the commercial property upgrading works register, as the case may be.

For the purposes of these Rules, a person or group of persons shall be regarded as the common registered owner of more than one flat if and only if —

For the avoidance of doubt, a polling display need not resemble a polling paper provided that it contains all information necessary to enable a voter to mark or record his vote for or against any proposal regarding general upgrading works, specified upgrading works, special upgrading works, flat upgrading works or commercial property upgrading works, as the case may be.

After the chief polling officer has complied with rules 25 and 26, he shall make arrangements for counting the votes at the polling place in the presence of one or more scrutineers.

The chief polling officer shall open the poll boxes referred to in rule 25(a) and, so far as practicable proceed continuously to count the polling papers therein according to the votes cast and the value in those votes, and shall endorse “rejected” on any polling paper which he may reject as invalid.

The chief polling officer shall reject as invalid any polling paper —

Notwithstanding paragraph (1), where the chief polling officer is satisfied that any mark on the polling paper clearly indicates the intention of the voter, the chief polling officer shall not reject as invalid any polling paper on the ground solely that it has not been marked in all respects in accordance with the directions given to voters on the polling paper.

Before rejecting a polling paper, the chief polling officer shall show to one or more scrutineers and consider their views thereon.

The decision of the chief polling officer whether or not any polling paper shall be rejected shall be final.

On the completion of the counting of votes cast during each polling day, the chief polling officer shall, in the presence of one or more scrutineers —

The daily statement of the poll for that polling day shall be placed in an envelope and the sealed packets containing the counted, rejected and spoilt polling papers shall be placed into a container, and the envelope and container shall then each be sealed with the seals of the chief polling officer and the scrutineers in such a manner that nothing can be inserted or removed from the envelope or container without breaking the seals.

The chief polling officer shall take proper precautions for the security of the envelope and container in paragraph (2) and the contents therein.

As soon as practicable after the last polling day, the chief polling officer shall compile the final statement of the poll which shall state the results of the poll, and such statement shall be certified by the scrutineers in Form 4 in the First Schedule.

For the purposes of compiling the final statement of the poll, the chief polling officer may break the seal of any envelope or container referred to in rule 29(2), 34D(3)(a), 34E(1)(b) or (c) or 34G(2), and inspect the contents therein relating to the poll.

A final statement of the poll relating to a precinct shall be in Form 6 or 6A, as the case may be, in the First Schedule and shall, within 28 days after the last polling day of the poll —

A final statement of a special poll relating to any special upgrading works in a building or for 2 or more buildings within a precinct shall be in Form 6B in the First Schedule and shall, within 28 days after the last polling day of the special poll —

A final statement of a flat upgrading poll relating to any flat upgrading works within flats comprised in a building in a precinct or within any building in a precinct shall be in Form 6C in the First Schedule and shall, within 28 days after the last polling day of the flat upgrading poll —

A final statement of a commercial property upgrading poll for any commercial property upgrading works within a precinct must be in Form 6D in the Schedule and must, within 28 days after the last polling day of the commercial property upgrading poll —

The results of a primary poll to establish the opinions about proposals to carry out general upgrading works in a precinct shall be ascertained in accordance with the formula where A is the total value in votes cast at the primary poll in favour of the proposal to carry out general upgrading works; andB is the total value in votes of all registered owners of flats within the precinct who are entitled to vote at that primary poll.

The results of a secondary poll to establish the opinions about proposals to carry out specified upgrading works in a building comprising residential flats shall be ascertained in accordance with the formula where C is the total value in votes cast at the secondary poll by the registered owners of residential flats in the building in favour of the proposal to carry out those specified upgrading works; andD is the total value in votes of all registered owners of residential flats in the building who are entitled to vote at that secondary poll.

The results of a secondary poll to establish the opinions about proposals to carry out specified upgrading works in any part of a building comprising non-residential flats shall be ascertained in accordance with the formula where E is the total value in votes cast at the secondary poll by the registered owners of non-residential flats in the building in favour of the proposal to carry out those specified upgrading works; andF is the total value in votes of all registered owners of non-residential flats in the building who are entitled to vote at that secondary poll.

The results of a special poll to establish the opinions about proposals to carry out special upgrading works in a building or for 2 or more buildings (whether comprising wholly residential flats or partly residential and non-residential flats) shall be ascertained in accordance with the formula where G is the total value of votes cast at the special poll by the registered owners of beneficiary flats in the building or buildings, as the case may be, in favour of the proposal to carry out those special upgrading works; andH is the total value in votes of all registered owners of beneficiary flats in the building or buildings, as the case may be, who are entitled to vote at that special poll.

The results of a flat upgrading poll to establish the opinions about any proposal to carry out flat upgrading works within flats comprised in a building in a precinct or within any building in a precinct shall be ascertained in accordance with the formula where M is the total value of votes cast at the flat upgrading poll by the registered owners of flats in the building in favour of the proposal to carry out those flat upgrading works; andN is the total value in votes of all registered owners of flats in the building who are entitled to vote at that flat upgrading poll.

The results of a commercial property upgrading poll to establish the opinions about any proposal to carry out commercial property upgrading works within a precinct are to be ascertained in accordance with the formula where —

For the purposes of determining the total value in votes of all registered owners of flats within a precinct or a building or part thereof, the value in the vote of the senior owner among the joint registered owners of a flat who are entitled to vote in any poll shall be counted to the exclusion of the other joint owners.

As soon as practicable after a precinct has been declared under section 76(1) of the Act, the Board shall prepare a register of owners of flats for that precinct, entering the names and addresses of all persons who —

Where there is any proposal to carry out special upgrading works in a building or for 2 or more buildings within a precinct, the Board shall prepare a special register of owners of beneficiary flats in the building or buildings, as the case may be, in relation to those works, entering the names and addresses of all persons who —

Where there is any proposal to carry out any flat upgrading works within flats comprised in a building in a precinct or within any building in a precinct, the Board shall prepare a flat upgrading works register of owners of flats in the building, entering the names and addresses of all persons who are entitled to have their names entered in the register as owners of such flats and are not disqualified under rule 5 from voting at the flat upgrading poll relating to those flat upgrading works.

If the Board proposes to carry out any commercial property upgrading works within a precinct, the Board must prepare a commercial property upgrading works register of owners of every beneficiary commercial property within the precinct in relation to those proposed works, entering the names and addresses of all persons who —

The register of owners for a precinct may comprise a series of subsidiary registers of owners of flats comprised in each building within the precinct.

For the purposes of paragraphs (2) and (3), the Board may combine —

Where the Board has prepared a combined register under paragraph (5), a reference in these Rules to a person’s name appearing or being registered in the special register or the flat upgrading works register shall be read to refer to the person’s name appearing or being registered (as the case may be) in the combined register with the appropriate notation to identify that the person is entitled to vote in the special poll to which the special register relates or the flat upgrading poll to which the flat upgrading works register relates, as the case may be.

Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), in relation to any flat within a precinct which is sold by the Board, any person who, immediately before the commencement of a primary poll relating to the precinct, is —

Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the following persons shall not be the owner or owners of any flat for the purposes of these Rules and shall not be entitled to be registered as such: (a)any sole purchaser of a flat who is neither a citizen of Singapore nor a Singapore corporation; (b)the joint purchasers of a flat, all of whom are neither citizens of Singapore nor Singapore corporations; (c)any body corporate which is declared under section 57 of the Act to be entitled to purchase a flat; and (d)any sole purchaser or joint purchasers of a residential flat which is the subject of an agreement entered into under the Lease Buyback Scheme.

For the avoidance of doubt, where only one of the most recent joint purchasers of a flat is either a citizen of Singapore or a Singapore corporation, all the joint purchasers shall be the owners of the flat for the purposes of these Rules and shall be entitled to be registered as such.

Where the owner of a flat is deceased and representation has been taken out at any time before the commencement of the primary poll, the personal representative of the deceased owner shall, for the purposes of these Rules, be entitled to have his name entered in the register as owner of the flat instead of the deceased owner.

Where an owner of a flat is of unsound mind or his person or estate is liable to be dealt with in any way under the law relating to mental disorders, his committee or such other person who properly has the management of his estate shall be entered in the register as the owner of the flat.

Where immediately before the commencement of the primary poll any flat within a precinct is rented out by the Board or is the subject of an agreement entered into under the Lease Buyback Scheme, the Board shall, for the purposes of these Rules, be the owner of that flat and shall be entered in the register as such.

Where immediately before the commencement of the primary poll any flat within a precinct is neither sold nor rented out by the Board, the Board shall, for the purposes of these Rules, be the owner of that flat and shall be entered in the register as such.

This rule shall apply to any special poll as if —

This rule shall also apply to any flat upgrading poll as if —

Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), any person who, immediately before the commencement of a commercial property upgrading poll for commercial property upgrading works in a precinct, is the most recent purchaser, jointly or otherwise —

Despite paragraph (1), the following persons are not the owner or owners of any beneficiary commercial property within the precinct for the purposes of these Rules and are not entitled to be entered in the commercial property upgrading works register as such under rule 3(3A) for that property:

To avoid doubt, if any one of the most recent joint purchasers of a beneficiary commercial property within the precinct is a citizen of Singapore or a Singapore corporation, all the joint purchasers are, for the purposes of these Rules, the owners of that property and are entitled to be entered into the commercial property upgrading works register as such under rule 3(3A).

If the owner of a beneficiary commercial property within the precinct is deceased and representation has been taken out under a will or on the intestacy of the deceased owner before the commencement of the commercial property upgrading poll, the personal representative of the deceased owner is, for the purposes of these Rules, entitled to be entered into the commercial property upgrading register as the owner of that property under rule 3(3A) instead of the deceased owner.

If an owner (A) of a beneficiary commercial property is of unsound mind or A or A’s estate is liable to be dealt with in any way under the law relating to mental disorders, A’s committee or any other person who properly has the management of A’s estate is entitled to be entered in the commercial property upgrading works register as the owner of that property under rule 3(3A) instead of A.

If, immediately before the commencement of the commercial property upgrading poll, any beneficiary commercial property within the precinct is rented out by the Board, the Board is, for the purposes of these Rules, the owner of that property and is entitled to be entered in the commercial property upgrading works register as such under rule 3(3A).

If, immediately before the commencement of the commercial property upgrading poll, any beneficiary commercial property within the precinct is not sold or rented out by the Board, the Board is, for the purposes of these Rules, the owner of that property and is entitled to be entered in the commercial property upgrading works register as such under rule 3(3A).

The Board shall, not later than the day before the commencement of a primary poll relating to a precinct, complete the register and shall certify the completed register as the register in operation for that precinct.

The Board shall, not later than the day before the commencement of a special poll in relation to any special upgrading works in a building or for 2 or more buildings within a precinct, complete the special register referred to in rule 3(2) and, shall certify the completed special register as the register in operation for those special upgrading works.

The Board shall, not later than the day before the commencement of a flat upgrading poll in relation to any flat upgrading works within flats comprised in a building in a precinct or within any building in a precinct, complete the flat upgrading works register referred to in rule 3(3), and shall certify the completed flat upgrading works register as the register in operation for those flat upgrading works.

The Board must, not later than the date before the commencement of a commercial property upgrading poll for any commercial property upgrading works within a precinct, complete the commercial property upgrading works register mentioned in rule 3(3A), and must certify the completed commercial property upgrading works register as the register in operation for those works.

The register in operation for a precinct and the special register in operation for any special upgrading works in a building or for 2 or more buildings shall be conclusive evidence for the purpose of determining whether a person is entitled to vote at a poll relating to that precinct and at a special poll in relation to those special upgrading works, respectively.

The flat upgrading works register in operation for any flat upgrading works within flats comprised in a building in a precinct or within any building in a precinct shall be conclusive evidence for the purpose of determining whether a person is entitled to vote at a flat upgrading poll in relation to those flat upgrading works.

The commercial property upgrading works register in operation for any commercial property upgrading works within a precinct is conclusive evidence for the purpose of determining whether a person is entitled to vote at a commercial property upgrading poll for those works.

Subject to the provisions of these Rules, every registered owner whose name appears in the register in operation for a precinct shall —

Subject to the provisions of these Rules, every registered owner whose name appears in a special register prepared in relation to any special upgrading works in a building or for 2 or more buildings within a precinct shall be entitled to vote in a special poll relating to those special upgrading works.

Subject to the provisions of these Rules, every registered owner whose name appears in a flat upgrading works register prepared in relation to any flat upgrading works shall be entitled to vote in a flat upgrading poll relating to those flat upgrading works.

Subject to the provisions of these Rules, every person who is registered under rule 3(3A) as the owner of any beneficiary commercial property within a precinct for any commercial property upgrading works is entitled to vote in a commercial property upgrading poll for those works.

Subject to the provisions of these Rules, every registered owner whose name appears in the register in operation for a precinct shall, for the purposes of a primary poll relating to the precinct, have —

Subject to the provisions of these Rules, every registered owner whose name appears in a subsidiary register in operation for a building within a precinct shall, for the purposes of a secondary poll relating to the building, have —

Subject to the provisions of these Rules, every registered owner whose name appears in a special register for any special upgrading works in a building or for 2 or more buildings within a precinct shall, for the purposes of a special poll relating to those special upgrading works, have —

Subject to the provisions of these Rules, every registered owner whose name appears in a flat upgrading works register for any flat upgrading works within flats comprised in a building in a precinct or within any building in a precinct shall, for the purposes of a flat upgrading poll relating to those flat upgrading works, have —

Subject to the provisions of these Rules, a person who is registered under rule 3(3A) as the owner of any beneficiary commercial property within a precinct for any commercial property upgrading works has, for the purposes of a commercial property upgrading poll for those works, one vote for each beneficiary commercial property within that precinct for those works in respect of which that person is registered as the owner, jointly or otherwise.

For the purposes of any primary poll relating to a precinct, the vote of every registered owner entitled to vote in that primary poll shall have a value as follows: (a)where the Board is the registered owner — one, notwithstanding that it is the common registered owner of more than one flat within the precinct; and (b)in any other case — a number equal to the number of leases the Board has granted to the registered owner in respect of his flat or flats within the precinct.

For the purposes of any secondary poll relating to residential flats in a building within a precinct, the vote of every registered owner entitled to vote in that secondary poll shall have a value as follows: (a)where the Board is the registered owner — one, notwithstanding that it is the common registered owner of more than one residential flat within the building; and (b)in any other case — a number equal to the number of leases the Board has granted to the registered owner in respect of his residential flat or flats within the building.

For the purposes of any secondary poll relating to non-residential flats in a building within a precinct, the vote of every registered owner entitled to vote in that secondary poll shall have a value as follows: (a)where the Board is the registered owner — a number equal to the number of non-residential flats in the building in respect of which the Board has been registered as owner in the subsidiary register in operation for that building; and (b)in any other case — a number equal to the number of leases the Board has granted to the registered owner in respect of his non-residential flat or flats within the building.

For the purposes of a special poll relating to any special upgrading works in a building or for 2 or more buildings within a precinct, the vote of every registered owner entitled to vote in that special poll shall have a value as follows: (a)where the Board is the registered owner of any beneficiary flat within the building or buildings — one, notwithstanding that it is the common registered owner of more than one beneficiary flat within that building or those buildings; and (b)in the case of any other registered owner of a beneficiary flat within the building or buildings — a number equal to the number of leases the Board has granted to the registered owner in respect of his beneficiary flat or flats within that building or those buildings, as the case may be.

For the purposes of a flat upgrading poll relating to any flat upgrading works within flats comprised in a building in a precinct or within any building in a precinct, the vote of every registered owner entitled to vote in that flat upgrading poll shall have a value as follows: (a)where the Board is the registered owner — a number equal to one, notwithstanding that it is the common registered owner of more than one flat within that building; and (b)in any other case — a number equal to the number of leases the Board has granted to the registered owner in respect of his flat or flats within the building.

For the purposes of a commercial property upgrading poll for any commercial property upgrading works within a precinct, the vote of every registered owner entitled to vote in that commercial property upgrading poll has a value as follows:

In this rule, any reference to a lease granted by the Board to any registered owner shall include a reference to an agreement for a lease entered into by the Board with any registered owner.

Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), the vote of joint registered owners (including tenants in common) of a flat or a beneficiary commercial property (as the case may be) may be cast by any of them in person or by a proxy and any first such vote cast shall be accepted to the exclusion of the other joint owners; but if more than one registered owner are present at the poll on a polling day, the vote of the senior owner amongst them who tenders a vote, whether in person or by proxy, shall be accepted to the exclusion of the other joint owners.

In the case of tenants in common all of whom are either citizens of Singapore or Singapore corporations or both and who hold unequal shares in a flat or a beneficiary commercial property (as the case may be), the vote of the tenant in common holding the largest share and living at the commencement of the poll shall be accepted to the exclusion of the other tenants in common of that flat or beneficiary commercial property.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in these Rules, where any one of the joint registered owners (including tenants in common) of a flat or a beneficiary commercial property (as the case may be) is not a citizen of Singapore or a Singapore corporation, he shall not be entitled to vote in any poll and the vote of the joint registered owners of the flat or beneficiary commercial property may be cast only by any of the joint registered owners among them who is a citizen of Singapore or a Singapore corporation either in person or by proxy.

Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to the joint registered owners who are citizens of Singapore or Singapore corporations referred to in paragraph (3).

A company which is a registered owner may, under the seal of the company or the hand of its director or any duly authorised attorney, appoint such person as it thinks fit to act as its representative at a poll and a person so authorised shall, in accordance with his authority or until his authority is revoked by the company, be entitled to exercise the same powers on behalf of the company as the company could exercise if it were an individual.

A vote cast at a poll by or on behalf of a registered owner who is a company shall have no effect unless the chief polling officer has, before the vote is cast, received from the company a notice in writing specifying the representative of that company.

Subject to this rule, any person is capable of being appointed proxy to vote for a registered owner at any poll and may vote in pursuance of the appointment.

A registered owner cannot have more than one person at a time appointed as proxy to vote for him at a poll.

A person shall not be capable of being appointed to vote, or voting, as a proxy at a poll if —

A proxy need not be a registered owner of a flat or a beneficiary commercial property (as the case may be) within the precinct or a registered owner of a beneficiary flat within the building in relation to which the poll is conducted.

A person appointed to vote as proxy shall vote in person.

The instrument appointing a proxy shall be in writing, in Form 1 or 1A (as the case may be) in the First Schedule, under the hand of the registered owner or of his attorney duly authorised in writing or, if the registered owner is a corporation (other than the Board), either under seal or under the hand of an officer or an attorney duly authorised.

A vote given in accordance with the terms of an instrument of proxy or attorney shall be valid notwithstanding the previous death or unsoundness of mind of the principal or revocation of the instrument or of the authority under which the instrument was executed, if no information in writing of such death, unsoundness of mind or revocation has been received by the Board before the commencement of the poll at which the instrument is used.

The instrument appointing a proxy and the power of attorney or other authority, if any, under which it is signed or a notarially certified copy of that power or authority shall be deposited —

As soon as practicable after a precinct has been declared under section 76(1) of the Act, or after the Minister has approved any proposal to carry out certain special upgrading works in a building or for 2 or more buildings within a precinct, the Minister shall appoint —

The Minister may, in addition to the chief polling officer appointed under paragraph (1)(a), appoint one or more deputy chief polling officers to assist the chief polling officer in the performance of his duties under these Rules, and the deputy chief polling officer shall have all the powers and may perform all the duties of the chief polling officer under these Rules.

The chief polling officer shall, as soon as practicable after his appointment under paragraph (1)(a) for the purposes of any poll, appoint such polling officers and clerks as may be necessary for the purposes of that poll.

No officer of the Board who is appointed under rule 11 to vote on behalf of the Board at a poll shall be appointed as a chief polling officer, deputy chief polling officer, scrutineer, polling officer or clerk for the purposes of that same poll.

In this rule, “Minister” includes —

A primary poll shall be conducted in relation to a precinct together with —

Subject to section 77(7) of the Act, a secondary poll relating to non-residential flats in a building referred to in paragraph (1)(b) shall commence not more than 14 days after the date of publication under rule 32 of the final statement of the secondary poll relating to the residential flats in the same building.

Subject to the Act, a flat upgrading poll in relation to any flat upgrading works may be conducted at any time after the Minister has approved the proposal to carry out those flat upgrading works.

Subject to the Act, a special poll in relation to any special upgrading works in a building or for 2 or more buildings within a precinct may be conducted at any time after the Minister has approved the proposal to carry out those special upgrading works.

Subject to the Act, a commercial property upgrading poll for any commercial property upgrading works within a precinct may be conducted at any time after the Minister has approved the proposal to carry out those works.

The Board shall give notice of a primary poll relating to any precinct in the following manner: (a)by affixing, not less than 7 days before the date of commencement of the primary poll relating to the precinct, at a conspicuous place in every building within the precinct, a notice stating the polling days, the hours and the polling place of the primary poll; (b)by serving, not less than 7 days before the last polling day of the primary poll, a notice on every registered owner whose name appears in the register in operation for the precinct —

Where any secondary poll relating to residential flats comprised in any building within a precinct, or any special poll relating to any special upgrading works within a precinct, is to be conducted together with a primary poll relating to the precinct, the Board shall give notice of the secondary poll or (as the case may be) the special poll together with notice of the primary poll, and paragraph (1) shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to the giving of notice of the secondary poll or (as the case may be) the special poll.

Subject to section 77(7) of the Act and rule 16A(2), the Board shall give notice of a secondary poll relating to non-residential flats in any building within a precinct —

The Board shall give notice of a special poll relating to any special upgrading works in a building or for 2 or more buildings within a precinct in the following manner: (a)by affixing, not less than 7 days before the date of commencement of the special poll relating to those special upgrading works, at a conspicuous place in every such building to which those works relate, a notice stating the polling days, the hours and the polling place of the special poll; (b)by serving, not less than 7 days before the last polling day of the special poll, a notice on every registered owner whose name appears in the special register in operation for those special upgrading works —

The Board shall give notice of a flat upgrading poll relating to any flat upgrading works within flats comprised in a building in a precinct or within any building in a precinct in the following manner: (a)by affixing, not less than 7 days before the date of commencement of the flat upgrading poll relating to those flat upgrading works, at a conspicuous place in every such building to which those works relate, a notice stating the polling days, the hours and the polling place of the flat upgrading poll; and (b)by serving, not less than 7 days before the last polling day of the flat upgrading poll, a notice on every registered owner whose name appears in the flat upgrading works register in operation for those flat upgrading works —

The Board must give notice of a commercial property upgrading poll relating to any commercial property upgrading works within a precinct in the following manner:

If the Board, having given notice of a primary poll relating to any precinct in accordance with rule 17(1), decides to postpone the date of commencement or to change the polling place of the primary poll, the Board shall give notice of the postponement or change by affixing, not less than 2 days before the original date of commencement of the primary poll relating to the precinct, at a conspicuous place in every building within the precinct, a notice stating the changes in the polling days and hours or the polling place (as the case may be) of the primary poll.

Where the Board has given, in accordance with rule 17(2), notice of a secondary poll relating to residential flats comprised in a building within a precinct or notice of a special poll relating to any special upgrading works in a building or for 2 or more buildings within a precinct, and —

If the Board, having given notice of a secondary poll relating to non-residential flats in any building within a precinct in accordance with rule 17(3), decides to postpone the date of commencement or to change the polling place of the secondary poll, the Board shall give notice of the postponement or change by affixing, not less than 2 days before the original date of commencement of the secondary poll relating to non-residential flats in any building within that precinct, at a conspicuous place in each such building, a notice stating the changes in the polling days and hours or the polling place (as the case may be) of the secondary poll.

If the Board, having given notice of a special poll relating to any special upgrading works in a building or for 2 or more buildings within a precinct in accordance with rule 17(4), decides to postpone the date of commencement or to change the polling place of the special poll, the Board shall give notice of the postponement or change by affixing, not less than 2 days before the original date of commencement of the special poll relating to those special upgrading works, at a conspicuous place in every such building to which those works relate, a notice stating the changes in the polling days and hours or the polling place (as the case may be) of the special poll.

If the Board, having given in accordance with rule 17(5) notice of a flat upgrading poll relating to any flat upgrading works within flats comprised in a building in a precinct or within any building in a precinct, decides to postpone the date of commencement or to change the polling place of the flat upgrading poll, the Board shall give notice of the postponement or change by affixing, not less than 2 days before the original date of commencement of the flat upgrading poll relating to those flat upgrading works, at a conspicuous place in every such building to which those works relate, a notice stating the changes in the polling days and hours or the polling place (as the case may be) of the flat upgrading poll.

If the Board, having given in accordance with rule 17(6) notice of a commercial property upgrading poll relating to any commercial property upgrading works within a precinct, decides to postpone the date of commencement or to change the polling place of the commercial property upgrading poll, the Board must give notice of the postponement or change by affixing, not less than 2 days before the original date of commencement of the commercial property upgrading poll relating to those works, at a conspicuous place in every building within the precinct to which those works relate, a notice stating the changes in the polling days and hours of the polls or the polling place (as the case may be) of the commercial property upgrading poll.

The total period during which a poll may be taken shall not exceed 10 consecutive days.

Unless the Board otherwise specifies in the notices of the poll under rule 17, the poll shall —

Every voter entitled to vote at a poll or an adjourned poll relating to a precinct or a building within a precinct, or to flat upgrading works within flats comprised in a building in a precinct or within any building in a precinct, special upgrading works in a building or for 2 or more buildings within a precinct or commercial property upgrading works within a precinct, as the case may be, shall be given a number of polling papers equal to the number of votes he is entitled to under rule 7.

No polling paper shall be given to a voter at a poll or adjourned poll relating to any general upgrading works and specified upgrading works, or to any special upgrading works, flat upgrading works or commercial property upgrading works, unless he has produced his identity card or such other evidence of his identity and citizenship to a polling officer and his name appears in the register or for that precinct, or in the special register prepared in relation to those special upgrading works, the flat upgrading works register prepared in relation to those flat upgrading works or the commercial property upgrading works register prepared in relation to those commercial property upgrading works, as the case may be, or in the list of proxies, and a polling officer may refuse to give him a polling paper if he fails to furnish such evidence of his identity and citizenship or the polling officer decides that there is a reasonable doubt as to whether the voter is the registered owner or representative or proxy he represents himself to be.

Immediately before any polling paper is given to the voter, a mark shall be placed in the register, or the special register, the flat upgrading works register or the commercial property upgrading works register, as the case may be against the name of the voter in the register to denote that he has received a polling paper, and in the case of a person applying for a polling paper as a representative of a company or as proxy, a mark shall also be placed against his name in the list of proxies.

The voter, on receiving the polling paper, shall forthwith proceed to such place reserved for the marking of polling papers and mark in the space on the polling paper provided for the purpose of indicating whether the voter is in favour or against any proposal relating to general upgrading works, specified upgrading works, special upgrading works, flat upgrading works or commercial property upgrading works, as the case may be.

The voter will then fold the polling paper, put it into the appropriate poll box and leave the polling place.

Any polling officer may, on the application of any voter, explain to the voter the proposals regarding general upgrading works, specified upgrading works, special upgrading works, flat upgrading works or commercial property upgrading works, if any, or the method of voting; but in so doing, the polling officer shall abstain from any action which might be construed by the voter as a direction to vote in favour or against any such proposals.

Any polling officer may, on the application of a voter at the polling place who is incapacitated by blindness or other physical cause from voting in the manner prescribed in these Rules, mark the polling papers of the voter in the manner directed by the voter, and shall forthwith cause the polling papers to be placed in the appropriate poll box.

The sealed packets containing the unused polling papers and the marked copies of the register or registers (including any special register) and the list of proxies shall be placed in a container which shall then be sealed with the seals of the chief polling officer and one or more scrutineers in such a manner that nothing can be inserted or removed from the container without breaking the seals.

The chief polling officer shall take proper precautions for the security of every container in paragraph (1) and the contents therein.

After the final statement of the poll has been compiled in accordance with these Rules, the chief polling officer shall seal up all the polling papers and all other documents relating to that poll as required by these Rules in containers and shall, subject to this rule, retain the polling papers and documents unless the Minister otherwise directs their destruction.

Except as provided in paragraph (3), no person shall be allowed to inspect, copy or produce any polling paper or other document so sealed except for the purpose of instituting or maintaining a prosecution or any proceedings in connection with the poll.

The chief polling officer for a secondary poll relating to non-residential flats in a building may, for the purposes of conducting that secondary poll, in the presence of one or more scrutineers break the seals of the containers referred to in paragraph (1) and remove only the subsidiary register containing the names of registered owners of flats in that building.

In this rule, “Minister” includes —

Subject to paragraphs (2), (3) and (4), these Rules shall apply to a poll using an electronic polling system as it applies to a poll not using an electronic polling system.

Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), rules 19 to 30 (except rule 26A) shall not apply to a poll using an electronic polling system.

Rules 34B to 34H shall only apply to a poll using an electronic polling system.

Where pursuant to rule 34D a poll is conducted in part using an electronic polling system and in part using polling papers —

The Board may conduct a poll under section 77 of the Act using an electronic polling system if the Board is satisfied that the electronic polling system —

Before the commencement of the poll, the chief polling officer shall, in the presence of one or more scrutineers, carry out or cause to be carried out such inspection or tests as may be necessary to verify that every electronic polling machine and electronic polling equipment to be used at the poll is in proper order.

If the chief polling officer is satisfied that any such electronic polling machine and electronic polling equipment are in proper order for use at the poll, he shall seal with his seal and secure the electronic polling machine and electronic polling equipment against use and store them in safe custody until the commencement of the poll.

If the scrutineers are satisfied as to the matters in paragraphs (1), (2) and (3), they shall add their seal to the electronic polling machines and electronic polling equipment sealed by the chief polling officer under paragraph (3).

The chief polling officer shall monitor or cause to be monitored the electronic polling machines and electronic polling equipment for tampering and damage or any malfunction while voting is in progress.

If at any time the chief polling officer determines that the electronic polling machines or electronic polling equipment for use at the poll cannot be replaced or repaired promptly and that polling cannot be continued using the available electronic polling machines and electronic polling equipment without interfering substantially with the orderly conduct of the poll, the chief polling officer shall —