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The General Elections (Amendment) Act, 2009 (Bill No. 24)

A Bill entitled

AN ACT to amend the General Elections Act, Cap. 354

BE IT ENACTED by the President, by and with the advice of the House of Representatives, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same as follows:-

1. The short title of this Act is the General Elections (Amendment) Act, 2009 and this Act shall be construed as one with the General Elections Act, hereinafter referred to as “the principal Act”.

2. Immediately after sub-article (3) of article 77 of the principal Act, there shall be added the following new sub-article:

Short title.

Amends article 77 of the principal Act.

“Voting before polling day.

(3A) (a) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Act or of any other law, every registered voter who is entitled to vote at a general election, at an election of Members of the European Parliament or at a Local Council election and who is entitled to receive the voting document and who declares on oath before the Electoral Commission that he will not be in Malta on the day of the election, shall be entitled to cast his vote at the place indicated in paragraph (a) of sub-article (3) of this article between 7.00am and 10.00pm seven days before polling day.
C 662
(a):
(b) The sworn declaration referred to in paragraph
(i) may be made, as of right, until noon of the Friday immediately preceeding the day established for voting before polling day in accordance with paragraph (a), and
(ii) shall be made in such form and in accordance with such procedure as the Electoral Commission may require.
(c) All the provisions of this Act applicable to voting by Assistant Commissioners shall, without prejudice to this subarticle, be applied mutatis mutandis to registered voters entitled to vote before polling day in accordance with paragraph (a):
Provided that a person who, after having made a sworn declaration in accordance with paragraph (a) does not vote on the day established for voting before polling day, shall have the right to vote on polling day.”.

Objects and Reasons

The object of this Bill is to make provision, in certain cases, for voting prior to polling day by persons eligible to vote at General Elections, at elections of Members of the European Parliament and at Local Council elections.