Town Councils (Polling for Lift Upgrading Works) Rules 2005

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.

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 the lift upgrading works.

In these Rules, lift upgrading works in a building shall include all works necessary or ancillary to installing any lift or lift landing, or any additional lift or lift landing, in the building.

For the purposes of these Rules, the beneficiary flats in relation to any lift upgrading works in a building shall be all residential flats in that building other than —

After the chief polling officer has complied with rules 29 and 30, he shall make arrangements for the counting of the votes at the polling place in the presence of scrutineers.

The chief polling officer shall open all the poll boxes referred to in rule 29(a) and, so far as practicable, proceed continuously to counting the polling papers therein according to the votes cast and the voting value in those votes.

The chief polling officer shall endorse “rejected” on any polling paper which he may reject as invalid under rule 33.

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 the 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 scrutineers —

The sealed envelope containing the daily statement of the poll for that polling day shall be placed, together with the sealed packets containing the counted, rejected and spoilt polling papers, into a container, and the container shall then also 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 container without breaking the seals.

The chief polling officer shall take proper precautions for the security of the envelope and container referred to in paragraphs (1)(c) and (2), respectively, 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 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 34(2), 43(3)(a), 44(1)(b) or (c) or 46(2), and inspect the contents therein relating to the poll.

A final statement of the poll relating to a precinct shall be in Form 5 in the Schedule and shall, within 28 days after the last polling day of the poll —

The results of a poll to establish the opinions about a Town Council’s proposal to carry out lift upgrading works in a building shall be ascertained in accordance with the formulawhere Ais the total voting value in votes cast at the poll by the registered owners of beneficiary flats in the building in favour of the proposal to carry out those lift upgrading works; andBis the total voting value in votes of all registered owners of beneficiary flats in the building who are entitled to vote at that poll.

For the purposes of determining the total voting value in votes of all registered owners of beneficiary flats within a building, the voting value of 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.

Where a Town Council proposes to carry out lift upgrading works in any building within a precinct, the Town Council shall prepare a register of owners of beneficiary flats in the building for those 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 beneficiary flats comprised in each building within the precinct.

Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), any person who, immediately before the commencement of a poll relating to the proposal to carry out lift upgrading works under section 24C of the Act, is —

Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the following persons shall not be the owner or owners of any beneficiary flat for the purposes of these Rules and shall not be entitled to be registered as such:

For the avoidance of doubt, where only one of the most recent joint purchasers of a beneficiary 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 beneficiary flat is deceased and representation has been taken out at any time before the commencement of the 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 beneficiary flat instead of the deceased owner.

Where an owner of a beneficiary 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 beneficiary flat.

The HDB shall, for the purposes of these Rules, be the owner of a beneficiary flat within a precinct and shall be entered in the register as such if immediately before the commencement of the poll —

The Town Council shall, not later than the day before the commencement of a poll in relation to any lift upgrading works in any building within a precinct, complete the register referred to in rule 4(1) and shall certify the completed register as the register in operation for those lift upgrading works in that building.

The register in operation for any lift upgrading works in a building shall be conclusive evidence for the purpose of determining whether a person is entitled to vote at a poll in relation to those lift upgrading works in that building.

Subject to the provisions of these Rules, every registered owner whose name appears in a register of owners of beneficiary flats in a building within a precinct in respect of which lift upgrading works in the building are proposed shall be entitled to vote in a poll relating to those lift upgrading works.

Subject to the provisions of these Rules, every registered owner whose name appears in a register of owners of beneficiary flats in a building within a precinct in respect of which lift upgrading works in the building are proposed shall, for the purposes of a poll relating to those lift upgrading works in that building, have —

In a poll relating to any building within a precinct, the vote of each registered owner entitled to vote at that poll shall have a voting value as follows:

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

Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), the vote of joint registered owners (including tenants in common) of a beneficiary flat may be cast by any of them in person or by 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 beneficiary flat, 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.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in these Rules, where any one of the joint registered owners (including tenants in common) of a beneficiary flat 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 that flat 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 shall be 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 of voting, as a proxy at a poll if —

A proxy need not be a registered owner of a beneficiary flat 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 in the 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 HDB), 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 Town Council 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, before the vote is cast by the proxy at the poll, be deposited —

As soon as practicable after a precinct has been declared under section 24B(1) of the Act and after the HDB has approved any proposal of the Town Council to carry out certain lift upgrading works in a building within the 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 HDB who is appointed under rule 13 to vote on behalf of the HDB 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 —

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

Unless the Town Council otherwise specifies in the notices of the poll given under rule 20, the poll shall —

Every voter entitled to vote at a poll or an adjourned poll relating to the lift upgrading works, shall be given a number of polling papers equal to the number of votes he is entitled to under rule 8.

No polling paper shall be given to a voter 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 for that poll, or in the list of proxies, and a polling officer may refuse to give a voter a polling paper if —

Immediately before any polling paper is given to a voter, a mark shall be placed in the register 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 immediately 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 of or against any proposal relating to the lift upgrading works.

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 proposal regarding the lift upgrading works, 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 of or against any such proposal.

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 then immediately 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 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 the 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.

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.

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 23 to 35 (except rule 31) shall not apply to a poll using an electronic polling system.

Rules 41 to 48 shall only apply to a poll using an electronic polling system.

Where pursuant to rule 43 a poll is conducted in part using an electronic polling system and in part using polling papers —

The Town Council may conduct a poll under section 24C of the Act using an electronic polling system if the Town Council is satisfied that the electronic polling system —

Before the commencement of a 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 —

If the chief polling officer halts polling pursuant to paragraph (2)(a), he shall as soon as possible —

The chief polling officer shall take all proper precautions for the security of the envelope referred to in paragraph (3)(a) and the contents therein.

Where after the poll has been conducted using polling papers pursuant to paragraph (2)(b), the chief polling officer determines that the electronic polling machines and electronic polling equipment are in order for use in the poll, he may —

If the chief polling officer halts polling using polling papers pursuant to paragraph (5)(a), he shall comply with rules 29 to 34 in respect of the polling conducted on that polling day using polling papers, as though the poll had been adjourned.

For the avoidance of doubt, if polling resumes or re-opens using the electronic polling system pursuant to paragraph (2)(b) or (5)(b), the chief polling officer shall immediately before the poll resumes or re-opens, as the case may be, in the presence of one or more scrutineers —

If the scrutineers are satisfied as to the matters in paragraph (7), they shall certify accordingly in Form 6 in the Schedule.

For the avoidance of doubt, paragraphs (7) and (8) shall apply instead of rule 45 to the re-opening of a poll using the electronic polling system pursuant to paragraph (2)(b) or (5)(b).

Paragraphs (3)(c) and (7)(a) shall not apply to any electronic polling machine or electronic polling equipment that is to be used for polling immediately after it is repaired pursuant to paragraph (3)(b).

As soon as practicable after the poll is adjourned on each polling day or closed on the last polling day, the chief polling officer shall —

The chief polling officer shall take all proper precautions for the security of the envelopes and containers referred to in paragraph (1)(c) and the contents therein.

Immediately before the poll re-opens on any subsequent polling day, the chief polling officer shall, in the presence of one or more scrutineers —

If the scrutineers are satisfied as to the matters in paragraph (1), they shall certify in Form 4 in the Schedule that the daily statement of the poll is correctly set out.

For the purposes of verifying the polling data stored in any electronic polling machine in accordance with rule 43(7)(b) or 45(1)(b), the chief polling officer may (in the presence of one or more scrutineers) break the seal of any envelope or container referred to in paragraph (2) or rule 34(2), 43(3)(a) or 44(1)(b) or (c), and inspect the contents therein relating to the poll.

The chief polling officer shall, after inspecting the contents of any such envelopes or containers opened pursuant to paragraph (1), place the contents in envelopes or containers, as appropriate, and seal the envelopes or containers with his seal in such a manner that nothing can be inserted or removed from the envelopes or containers without breaking the seal.

The chief polling officer shall take all proper precautions for the security of the envelopes and containers and the contents therein.

Any person who —

In this rule, “proposal” means a proposal to carry out lift upgrading works in a building within a precinct.