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Electoral Act 1965 - Electoral Regulations 2013

REPUBLIC OF NAURU
Electoral Regulations 2013
______________________________
SL No 2 of 2013
______________________________

Table of Provisions

PART 1 — PRELIMINARY MATTERS

1 Citation

2 Commencement

PART 2 — VOTING COMPARTMENTS

3 Offence—taking camera, phone etc into voting compartment

PART 3 — VOTING AT HOSPITAL

4 Voting at hospital

PART 4 — PROXY VOTING

5 Offence to induce elector to vote by proxy

6 Application for proxy voting authorisation

7 Offence—false or misleading information in application

8 Determination of application for proxy voting authorisation

9 Elector may not vote in person while proxy voting authorisation in force

10 Withdrawal of proxy voting authorisation—application of elector

11 Withdrawal of proxy voting authorisation—death or ineligibility to vote

12 Withdrawal of proxy voting authorisation—more than 2 proxy voting authorisations granted to proxy in error

13 Returning officer's obligations—informing elector of withdrawal of proxy voting authorisation

14 Returning officer's obligations—list of proxies for use on polling day

15 Obligation of proxy to return proxy voting authorisation

16 Application of Act to proxy

17 Obligations of presiding officer at polling place

18 Offence by proxy—false or misleading information

19 Obligations of proxy in casting vote on behalf of elector

PART 5 — FEES

20 Fees

SCHEDULE 1 — FORMS
SCHEDULE 2 — FEES
SCHEDULE 3 — REVOCATION

1 Revocation of all previous regulations

_______________________

REPUBLIC OF NAURU
Electoral Regulations 2013
______________________________
SL No 2 of 2013
______________________________

Cabinet makes the following regulations under the Electoral Act 1965

Notified on 6 March 2013

PART 1 — PRELIMINARY MATTERS

1 Citation
These Regulations may be cited as the Electoral Regulations 2013.

2 Commencement
These Regulations commence on the day after the day on which they are published in the Gazette.

PART 2 — VOTING COMPARTMENTS

3 Offence—taking camera, phone etc into voting compartment
A person entering a voting compartment to vote must not take into the compartment, or have in his or her possession while in the compartment, a camera, mobile phone or other device capable of capturing an image.

Maximum penalty: $10,000 and imprisonment for 6 months.

PART 3 — VOTING AT HOSPITAL

4 Voting at hospital
(1) An elector who is entitled to vote at an election but who is unable to attend a polling place by reason of being admitted to the Republic of Nauru hospital may vote at the hospital.

(2) The Act applies, with necessary modifications, to the Republic of Nauru hospital as if it were a polling place for each District and, in particular, a presiding officer must be appointed for the hospital and a ballot-box provided to the presiding officer.

(3) If a patient is unable to attend a voting compartment set up at the hospital, his or her bed or room may be regarded as if it were a voting compartment and, in such a case, the presiding officer must ensure that the patient has a pen for the purposes of marking the ballot-paper issued to the patient by the presiding officer and that the patient votes in private, subject to any requirement for medical attention or assistance under section 22(4) of the Act.

(4) If a patient of the hospital is unable to personally place his or her ballot-paper in the ballot-box, the presiding officer may deposit the paper in the box for the patient.

PART 4 — PROXY VOTING

5 Offence to induce elector to vote by proxy
A person must not induce, whether by threats or promises or otherwise, an elector to vote by proxy at an election.

Maximum penalty: $10,000 and imprisonment for 6 months.

6 Application for proxy voting authorisation
(1) An elector who is entitled to vote at a particular election but who will not be in Nauru on the polling day for the election may make an application to the Returning Officer for a proxy voting authorisation.

(2) The proxy nominated in the application:

(a) must be entitled to vote; and

(b) must be enrolled on the same roll as the elector; and

(c) must not be under a sentence, or subject to be sentenced, for an offence punishable by imprisonment for 3 years or more; and

(d) must not be proxy, or have been nominated as proxy, for more than 1 other elector.

(3) The application must be received by the Returning Officer at least 24 hours before polling commences.

(4) The application must comply with the following:

(a) it must be in the form of Form 1 set out in Schedule 1; and

(b) Part A must be signed by the applicant; and

(d) Part B must be signed by the nominated proxy.

(5) The witness must be 1 of the following:

(a) Returning Officer;

(b) Chief Secretary;

(d) Nauru Permanent Representative to the United Nations (New York);

(e) Nauru Ambassador to Republic of China (Taiwan—Taipei);

(f) Nauru High Commissioner to Fiji (Suva);

(g) Nauru Consul General to Australia (Brisbane);

(h) Nauru Consul General to Thailand (Bangkok);

(i) Nauru Honorary Consul to India (New Delhi);

(j) Nauru Honorary Consul to the United Kingdom (London);

(k) Nauru Honorary Consul to Belgium (Brussels);

(l) Nauru Honorary Consul to Israel (Jerusalem); or

(m) a person in a country other than Nauru who is a legal practitioner, notary public, commissioner of oaths or justice of the peace under the law of the country.

(6) If the applicant is not in Nauru when the application is signed:

(a) a paper copy of the application may be signed by the applicant and attested by the witness and then scanned and emailed to returningofficer@naurugov.nr or another email address provided by the Returning Officer; and

(b) the nominated proxy may either sign the paper copy before it is scanned and emailed or add his or her signature to a paper copy of the emailed application; and

(c) the application will be taken to have been delivered to the Returning Officer when a copy is received by the Returning Officer bearing the signature or a scanned copy of the signature of the applicant, witness and nominated proxy as set out above.

7 Offence—false or misleading information in application
A person commits an offence if:

(a) the person signs an application for a proxy voting authorisation as the applicant, a witness or nominated proxy; and

(b) the application contains false or misleading information; and

(i) knows the information is false or misleading; or

(ii) is reckless about whether the information is false or misleading.

Maximum penalty: $5,000 or imprisonment for 6 months.

8 Determination of application for proxy voting authorisation
(1) Subject to subregulations (2) and (3), the Returning Officer must, on application, grant a proxy voting authorisation if:

(a) the application complies with regulation 6; and

(b) the Returning Officer is satisfied that:

(i) the applicant is entitled to vote at the election; and

(ii) the nominated proxy is eligible to act as proxy for the applicant, that is, the person:

(A) is entitled to vote at the election; and

(B) is enrolled in the same District as the applicant; and

(C) is not under a sentence, or subject to be sentenced, for an offence punishable by imprisonment for 3 years or more; and

(D) is not already authorised to act as proxy for more than 1 other elector.

(2) The Returning Officer may refuse to grant a proxy voting authorisation if the Returning Officer is not satisfied of any of the following:

(a) the applicant has exercised free will in deciding to make the application for the authorisation;

(b) the applicant will be outside Nauru on polling day;

(d) the nominated proxy understands the responsibilities of a proxy;

(e) the nominated proxy will vote in accordance with the instructions of the applicant.

(3) The Returning Officer may refuse to grant a proxy voting authorisation if the Returning Officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the applicant has been induced by another (whether by threats or promises or otherwise) to vote by proxy.

(4) If the Returning Officer grants a proxy voting authorisation, the Returning Officer must make the authorisation (in the form of Form 2 set out in Schedule 1) available for collection by the proxy before polling day or at the polling place on polling day.

(5) If the Returning Officer refuses to grant a proxy voting authorisation, the Returning Officer must give the applicant a notice of refusal (in the form of Form 3 set out in Schedule 1) by delivering it according to the contact details provided in the application or, if no contact details are provided, by making it available for collection by the applicant.

9 Elector may not vote in person while proxy voting authorisation in force
If an elector for whom a proxy voting authorisation for an election has been granted is in Nauru on polling day, the elector may only vote in person at the election if the authorisation has been withdrawn in accordance with these regulations.

10 Withdrawal of proxy voting authorisation—application of elector
(1) An elector may apply to the Returning Officer for a proxy voting authorisation granted to a proxy of the elector to be withdrawn.

(2) The application must be received by the Returning Officer at least 24 hours before polling commences.

(3) The application must:

(a) be in the form of Form 4 set out in Schedule 1; and

(b) be signed by the elector and attested by a witness of a class who can attest an application for a proxy voting authorisation (see regulation 6(5)).

(4) If the applicant is not in Nauru when the application is signed, a paper copy of the application may be signed by the elector and attested by the witness and then scanned and emailed to returningofficer@naurugov.nr or another email address provided by the Returning Officer.

(5) If an application is received by the Returning Officer in compliance with this regulation, the Returning Officer must withdraw the proxy voting authorisation to which it relates.

11 Withdrawal of proxy voting authorisation—death or ineligibility to vote
If a proxy voting authorisation has been granted and the elector or proxy dies or ceases to be eligible to vote at the election, the proxy voting authorisation is withdrawn.

12 Withdrawal of proxy voting authorisation—more than 2 proxy voting authorisations granted to proxy in error
If more than 2 proxy voting authorisations are purportedly granted in the name of the same proxy for an election, the 2 authorisations granted earliest in time are valid and the remaining authorisations are withdrawn.

13 Returning officer's obligations—informing elector of withdrawal of proxy voting authorisation
The Returning Officer must endeavour to inform an elector if a proxy voting authorisation is withdrawn (other than by reason of the death of the elector).

14 Returning officer's obligations—list of proxies for use on polling day
(1) The Returning Officer must make a list of the names of all proxies and related electors for which proxy voting authorisations have been granted for an election.

(2) No entry is to be deleted from the list, but if a proxy voting authorisation for the election is withdrawn, the Returning Officer must strike through the relevant entry on the list and add to the entry a note of the reason for the withdrawal.

(3) The Returning Officer must give a copy of the list to the presiding officer at each relevant polling place on polling day before the commencement of polling.

15 Obligation of proxy to return proxy voting authorisation
(1) If a proxy voting authorisation has been collected from the Returning Officer and the authorisation is subsequently withdrawn, the former proxy must, at the request of the Returning Officer or a presiding officer, return the authorisation to the Returning Officer or presiding officer.

Maximum penalty: $500 and imprisonment for 3 months.

(2) It is a defence to a charge of an offence against subregulation (1) if the defendant proves that the authorisation has been lost or destroyed.

16 Application of Act to proxy
(1) Sections 20, 21 and 22 of the Act apply to a proxy or ballot-paper delivered to a proxy as if the proxy were the elector casting a vote at the election.

(2) A proxy may attend at a polling place to vote at an election only once and must be dealt with under the Act and these regulations as both an elector and proxy on that occasion.

Note

The proxy may be asked questions as an elector under section 23 of the Act and as a proxy under regulation 17.

17 Obligations of presiding officer at polling place
(1) A presiding officer must not deliver a ballot-paper to a person claiming to vote on behalf of an elector as proxy unless:

(a) the person hands in the relevant proxy voting authorisation; and

(b) the person is listed as proxy of the elector on the list of proxies prepared by the Returning Officer (and the relevant entry has not been struck through); and

(i) 'Are you the person whose name appears on the proxy voting authorisation as (the name of the proxy)?'

(ii) 'Are you qualified to vote as proxy on behalf of (the name of the elector) at this election of members for (the name of the constituency or the names of the Districts included in the constituency)?'

(iii) 'Have you already voted as proxy of (the name of the elector) at this election?'; and

(d) the person answers questions (i) and (ii) in the affirmative and (iii) in the negative. (2) The presiding officer is not entitled to ask the person any other questions in relation to the person's claim to vote at the election as proxy.

(3) The presiding officer must note the fact that ballot-papers have been delivered to a proxy against the relevant entry in the list of proxies prepared by the Returning Officer.

18 Offence by proxy—false or misleading information
A person commits an offence if:

(a) the person provides information that is false or misleading in response to a question put to the person by a presiding officer under these regulations; and

(b) the person:

(i) knows that the information is false or misleading; or

(ii) is reckless about whether the information is false or misleading.

Maximum penalty: $5,000 and imprisonment for 6 months.

19 Obligations of proxy in casting vote on behalf of elector
(1) A proxy must cast his or her vote as proxy of an elector at the same time as he or she casts his or her vote as an elector.

(2) The proxy must hand to the presiding officer at the polling place the relevant proxy voting authorisations.

(3) The proxy is required to vote as instructed by the elector (but failure to do so is not grounds for an electoral dispute).

PART 5 — FEES

20 Fees
The fees set out in Schedule 2 are payable to the Electoral Registrar for applications made and services provided under the Act.

____________________

SCHEDULE 1 — FORMS

Form 1—Application for proxy voting authorisation

Part A—Application by elector
Electoral Regulations 2013, regulation 6(4)—to be completed by elector

To the Returning Officer

I, ...................................................................................................................

[insert full name]

of ..................................................................................................................

[insert current address or District of residence]

being on the roll to vote in the constituency of .............................................

[insert name of constituency]

apply for a proxy voting authorisation for the:

[tick one box only]
 general election
 by-election

to be held on .................................................................................................

[insert date of polling day]

I declare that I am unable to vote in person at the election because I will not be in Nauru on polling day.

I nominate .....................................................................................................

[insert full name]

of .................................................................................................................,

[insert current address or District of residence]

being a person on the roll to vote in the same constituency, to be my proxy for the election.

I acknowledge that my proxy must vote on my behalf according to my instructions on how to vote but that there are no controls to ensure that my instructions will be followed and the failure of the proxy to do so is not grounds for an electoral dispute.

My contact details are as follows:

[Insert details for preferred form of notification if proxy voting authorisation is refused.]

email address: ...................................................................................

fax: ....................................................................................................

phone: ...............................................................................................

postal address: ..................................................................................

I understand that I will be committing an offence if I know, or am reckless about whether, a statement in this application (including in Part B) is false or misleading and that the maximum penalty is $1,000 and 6 months imprisonment.

Signature of applicant: ..................................................................................

Date: .............................................................................................................

Signature of witness: ....................................................................................

Full name of witness: ....................................................................................

Title of witness: .............................................................................................

The witness must be 1 of the following: Returning Officer; Chief Secretary; Commissioner for Oaths; Nauru Permanent Representative to the United Nations (New York); Nauru Ambassador to Republic of China (Taiwan—Taipei); Nauru High Commissioner to Fiji (Suva); Nauru Consul General to Australia (Brisbane); Nauru Consul General to Thailand (Bangkok); Nauru Honorary Consul to India (New Delhi); Nauru Honorary Consul to the United Kingdom (London); Nauru Honorary Consul to Belgium (Brussels); Nauru Honorary Consul to Israel (Jerusalem); or a person in a country other than Nauru who is a legal practitioner, notary public, commissioner of oaths or justice of the peace under the law of the country.

The witness commits an offence if the witness knows, or is reckless about whether, a statement in the application (including in Part B) is false or misleading.

Part B—Consent of proxy
Electoral Regulations 2013, regulation 6(4)—to be completed by nominated proxy
I, ...................................................................................................................

[insert full name]

of ..................................................................................................................

[insert current address or District of residence]

being on the roll to vote in the constituency of .............................................

[insert name of constituency]

consent to vote as proxy of ..........................................................................

[insert name of elector]

at the [tick one box only]:
 general election
 by-election

to be held on .................................................................................................

[insert date of polling day]

I acknowledge that I must vote on behalf of the elector in accordance with the elector's instructions on how to vote.

I declare that I have not consented to be proxy of more than 1 other elector.

I declare that I am not under a sentence, or subject to be sentenced, for an offence punishable by imprisonment for 3 years or more.

I understand that I will be committing an offence if I know, or am reckless about whether, a statement in this application (including in Part A) is false or misleading and that the maximum penalty is $1,000 and 6 months imprisonment.

Signature of proxy: ........................................................................................

Date: .............................................................................................................

Form 2—Proxy voting authorisation

Electoral Regulations 2013, regulation 8(4)—to be completed by Returning Officer
.....................................................................................................................

[insert full name of proxy]

of ..................................................................................................................

[insert current address or District of residence of proxy]

is authorised to vote on behalf of:
.....................................................................................................................

[insert full name of elector]

of ..................................................................................................................

[insert current address or District of residence of elector]

at the [tick one box only]:
 general election
 by-election

to be held on ................................................................................................ .

[insert date of polling day]

This authorisation will be withdrawn if the elector withdraws the nomination of the proxy in accordance with the regulations or the elector or proxy dies or ceases to be entitled to vote at the election.

Signature of Returning Officer: ......................................................................
Date: .............................................................................................................
Time: ............................................................................................................

You must vote in your capacity as an elector and in your capacity as proxy at the same time.

This form must be given to the presiding officer at the polling place where you attend to vote on polling day. If you do not take this form with you, you will not be able to vote as proxy on behalf of the elector.

Form 3—Notice of refusal to grant proxy voting authorisation
Electoral Regulations 2013, regulation 8(5)—to be completed by Returning Officer

To the elector: .............................................................................................................

[insert full name]

of .................................................................................................................................

[insert current address or District of residence]

Your application for a proxy voting authorisation for the: [tick one box only]

 general election
 by-election

to be held on ...............................................................................................................

[insert date of polling day]

dated ...........................................................................................................................

[insert date on application]

is refused because: [tick 1 or more boxes]

 I am not satisfied that the applicant is enrolled to vote in a constituency for which the election is to be held.

 I am not satisfied that the application has been properly completed and signed by the applicant.

 I am not satisfied that the signature of the applicant has been properly attested by a witness of the relevant class.

 I am not satisfied that the application has been properly completed and signed by the nominated proxy.

 The application was not received by the Returning Officer at least 24 hours before polling commences.

 I am not satisfied that the nominated proxy is eligible to be a proxy for the elector because:

 the person is not entitled to vote at the election.

 the person is not enrolled in the same District as the applicant.

 the person is under a sentence, or subject to be sentenced, for an offence punishable by imprisonment for 3 years or more.

 the person is already authorised to act as proxy for more than 1 other elector.

 I am not satisfied that the applicant has exercised free will in deciding to apply to vote by proxy.

 I am not satisfied that the applicant will be outside Nauru on polling day.

 I am not satisfied that the nominated proxy has exercised free will in consenting to be proxy.

 I am not satisfied that the nominated proxy understands the responsibilities of a proxy.

 I am not satisfied that the nominated proxy will vote in accordance with the instructions of the applicant.

 I have reasonable grounds to believe that the applicant has been induced by another to vote by proxy.

Signature of Returning Officer: ................................................................................

Date: .......................................................................................................................

Form 4—Withdrawal of nomination of proxy

Electoral Regulations 2013, regulation 10(3)—to be completed by elector
To the Returning Officer
I, ...................................................................................................................

[insert full name]

of ..................................................................................................................

[insert current address or District of residence]

being on the roll to vote in the constituency of .............................................

[insert name of constituency]

revoke the nomination of:
.....................................................................................................................

[insert full name of former proxy]

of ..................................................................................................................

[insert current address or District of residence of former proxy]

to vote as my proxy at the: [tick one box only]
 general election
 by-election

to be held on .................................................................................................

[insert date of polling day]

Signature of applicant: ..................................................................................
Date: .............................................................................................................
Signature of witness: ....................................................................................
Full name of witness: ....................................................................................
Title of witness: .............................................................................................

______________

SCHEDULE 2 — FEES

Application for transfer of enrolment (section 9(4)(b) of Act)	$10
Nomination of candidate for election (section 16(2A)(d) of Act)	$100
Copy of Roll for a District	$2.00

______________________

SCHEDULE 3 — REVOCATION

1 Revocation of all previous regulations
All regulations previously made under the Electoral Act 1965 are revoked.

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