52. Election of non-constituency Members in certain circumstances

Amended

Last amended by an amending law of 2023. 2 amendments in all.

(1)

At any general election, the number of non‑constituency Members to be declared elected is the whole number (ignoring any number less than 0) ascertained in accordance with the formulawhere B is the total number of Opposition Members elected to Parliament in accordance with section 49(7) or (7E) or 56E(1)(b), as the case may be.

(1A)

[Deleted by Act 10 of 2010]

(2)

Subject to subsection (3A), the non‑constituency Member or Members to be declared elected under subsection (1) must be determined from among the candidates of those political parties (other than the party or parties that will form the Government) contesting the general election on the basis of the percentage of the votes polled at the same general election by such candidates in the following order of priority — the candidate receiving the highest percentage of votes being placed first and the other candidates being placed in descending order in accordance with the percentages of votes polled by them.

(3)

Subject to subsection (3A), where any non-constituency Member is to be declared elected under this section, the Returning Officer must, as soon as the Returning Officer determines the candidate who stands first in accordance with the order of priority under subsection (2), declare that candidate to be so elected; and if more than one non‑constituency Member are to be declared elected, the Returning Officer must declare as so elected the next succeeding candidate or candidates (as the case may be) in the order of priority under subsection (2).

(3A)

A candidate must not be declared as so elected under subsection (3) if —

(a)

the candidate has polled less than 15% of the total number of votes (other than rejected votes) polled at the election in the electoral division contested by him or her;

(b)

2 other candidates at the election in the same group representation constituency have been declared to be elected under subsection (3); or

(c)

one other candidate at the election in the same electoral division that is not a group representation constituency has been declared to be elected under subsection (3).

(3B)

Where there is an equality of the percentage of the votes between any candidates and the number of such candidates who are eligible to be declared elected under this section exceeds the number of non-constituency Members to be declared elected, the determination of the candidate or candidates to be declared elected must be as follows:

(a)

if all such candidates are from the same group, the Returning Officer must inform that group of the number of candidate or candidates in that group to be declared elected and the group must within 7 days determine among themselves who is to be declared elected and must immediately notify the Returning Officer of such determination; (b)in any other case, or where the group referred to in paragraph (a) fails to notify the Returning Officer, the determination must be made by lot in the presence of the Returning Officer in such manner and at such time as the Returning Officer may determine.

(3C)

Upon receipt of a notification under subsection (3B)(a), the Returning Officer must as soon as possible declare the candidate or candidates determined under that subsection to be elected as a non‑constituency Member or Members, as the case may be.

(3D)

For the purposes of this section and section 53, each candidate in a group for any group representation constituency is deemed to have received in respect of that constituency the percentage of the votes polled by that group in that constituency.

(4)

In this section, “Opposition Member” means a Member of Parliament who is not a member of the political party or parties forming the Government.