57.
| (1) No payment or contract for payment shall, at a Referendum, be made
| | (a) on account of the conveyance of electors to or from the poll, whether for the hiring of vehicles or animals of transport of any kind whatsoever, or for railway fares, or otherwise; or | | |
| | (b) to or with an elector on account of the use of any house, land, building, or premises for the exhibition of any address, bill or notice, or on account of the exhibition of any address, bill, or notice. | | |
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| (2) Subject to such exception as may be allowed in pursuance of this Act, if any payment or contract for payment is knowingly made in contravention of this section either before, during or after a Referendum, the person making such payment or contract shall be guilty of an illegal practice, and any person receiving such payment or being a party to any such contract, knowing the same to be in contravention of this section, shall also be guilty of an illegal practice. |
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| (3) Subject to any such express exceptions as are or may be made by or under this Act, a person shall not let, lend. employ, hire, borrow or use, or aid or abet any other person to let, lend, employ, hire, borrow or use, any vehicle, vessel or animal, in any electoral district during the period commencing one hour before the time of the opening of the poll at a Referendum in that district, and ending one hour after the time of the closure of such poll
| | (a) for the purpose of the conveyance of voters to or from the poll; or | | |
| | (b) for any other purpose, other than
| | | (i) any legitimate business ; |
| (ii) any official business, that is to say, the performance of any duty or the discharge of any Junction accruing from or connected with or incidental to any office, service or employment, held or undertaken or carried on by him. |
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| (4) Notwithstanding anything in the preceding provisions of this section
| | (a) where if is the ordinary business of an elector as an advertising agent to exhibit for payment bills and advertisements, a payment to or contract with such elector, if made in the ordinary course of business, shall not be- deemed to be an illegal practice within the meaning of this section ; | | |
| | (b) where elections are unable at a Referendum to reach their polling stations from their place of residence without crossing the sea or a branch or aim thereof or a river, means may be provided for conveying such electors by sea to their polling stations, or to enable them to cross the river in order to reach their polling stations; | | |
| | (c) the conveyance of a person at his own expense to or from the poll at a Referendum in, or the use by any person at his own expense for the purpose of the conveyance of himself to or from the poll of, any public transport service provided by the Sri Lanka Central Transport Board, or any Regional Transport Board or the Sri Lanka Government Railway, shall be deemed not to be an illegal practice within, the meaning of this section ; | | |
| | (d) where the returning officer for any electoral district is satisfied upon written application in that behalf made to him by any person, or on behalf of such person by any other person, so as to reach such officer seven days before the day on which a poll is to be taken at a Referendum, that such person is unable, by reason of any physical disability to convey himself to and from the poll on foot or in any public transport service referred to in paragraph (c) of this subsection, the returning officer may give such person written authority to use any vehicle, vessel or animal for the purpose of conveying himself to and from the poll, and accordingly the use of a vehicle, vessel or animal for the put pose of such conveyance by such person shall be deemed not to be an illegal practice within the meaning of this section | | |
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| (5) Where at any pull taken in any electoral district any police officer, either of his own motion or after an investigation which he is hereby required to carry out on the complaint of any person, is satisfied that any vehicle, vessel or animal is being used in contravention of the provisions of subsection (1) or subsection (3), that officer shall stop and seize such vehicle, vessel or animal, and take it to a police station and detain it therein until the conclusion of the poll. |
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| (6) The High Court may, on the conviction of any person for the commission of an illegal practice within the meaning of this section, make order declaring that any vehicle, vessel or animal used in or in connexion with the commission of such practice shall be forfeited to the Republic |
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Sri Lanka Consolidated Acts