July 5th, 2017 -- A Registration Officer who willfully or without reasonable excuse omits to register the name of any person qualified to be registered commits an offence and is liable, on summary conviction, to a fine of $100.00 or to imprisonment for three months or both and forfeit his or her right to payment for his or her services as a registration officer.
A Presiding Officer who fails or neglects to perform any duty imposed upon him or her by the Act shall be liable, on summary conviction before a District Magistrate, to a fine of $500.00 or to imprisonment with hard labour for six months.
A Returning Officer who wilfully delays, neglects or refuses duly to return any person who ought to be returned to serve in the National Assembly, and if it has been determined on the hearing of an election petition respecting the election that such person was entitled to have been returned, the returning officer who has so wilfully delayed, neglected or refused duly to make such return of his or her election shall forfeit to the person aggrieved the sum of $500.00 and costs in addition to all damages sustained.
Every election officer who makes a record, return or other document which he or she is required to keep or make, any entry which he or she knows or has reasonable cause to believe to be false, or does not believe to be true; permits any person whom he or she knows or has reasonable cause to believe not to be a blind person, an illiterate person or an incapacitated person to vote in the manner provided for blind persons, illiterate persons or incapacitated persons, as the case may be; refuses to permit any person whom he or she knows or has reasonable cause to believe to be a blind person, an illiterate person or an incapacitated person to vote in the manner provided for blind persons, illiterate persons or incapacitated persons, as the case may be, shall be liable to be imprisoned for a term not exceeding two years.
Furthermore, any election officer who wilfully prevents any person from voting at the polling station at which he or she knows or has reasonable cause to believe such person is entitled to vote; wilfully rejects or refuses to count any ballot paper which he or she knows or has reasonable cause to believe is validly cast for any candidate in accordance with the provisions of this Act; or wilfully counts any ballot paper as being cast for any candidate, which he or she knows or has reasonable cause to believe was not validly cast for such candidate; commits an offence and shall be liable to be imprisoned for a term not exceeding two years.
If a person forges, counterfeits, or fraudulently defaces or destroys any ballot paper or without due authority supplies a ballot paper to any person; or fraudulently puts into any ballot box any paper other than the ballot paper which he or she is authorised by law to put in; or fraudulently takes out of the polling station any ballot paper; or destroys, takes, opens, or otherwise interferes with any ballot box or packet of ballot papers then in use for the purposes of any election; or not being duly registered as a voter, votes at an election; that person shall be liable, if he or she is an election officer, to imprisonment for twelve months or to a fine of $1,500.00 and, if he or she is any other person, to imprisonment for three months or to a fine of five hundred dollars.
Clearly, who knows better must do better.
Yep. One man, one vote in the right place and fairness for all.
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