ELECTION OFFENCES ACT 1954

Election Offences LAWS OF MALAYSIA REPRINT Act 5 ELECTION OFFENCES ACT 1954 As at 1 December 2016 PUBLISHED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF LAW REVISION, MALAYSIA UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE REVISION OF LAWS ACT 1968 2016 1 2 Act 5 Laws of Malaysia ELECTION OFFENCES ACT 1954 First enacted … … … … … 1954 (Ordinance No. 9 of 1954) Revised … … … … … 1969 (Act 5 w.e.f. 12 April 1969) National language text to be authoritative … … … … … P.U. (B) 197/1994 Previous Reprints First Reprint … … … … … 1971 Second Reprint … … … … … 1982 Third Reprint … … … … … 1988 Fourth Reprint … … … … … 1990 Fifth Reprint … … … … … 1992 Sixth Reprint … … … … … 1994 Seventh Reprint … … … … … 1999 Eighth Reprint … … … … … 2004 Ninth Reprint … … … … … 2006 Tenth Reprint … … … … … 2007 Election Offences LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 5 ELECTION OFFENCES ACT 1954 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS PART I PRELIMINARY AND INTERPRETATION Section 1. 2. Short title and application Interpretation Part II ELECTORAL OFFENCES 3. Offences by any person 4a. Offence of promoting feelings of ill-will or hostility 4. 5. 6. Offences by election officers Maintenance of secrecy at elections Offences against this Part Part III CORRUPT PRACTICES 7. Personation 9. Undue influence 8. 10. 11. Treating Bribery Punishment and incapacities for corrupt practice 3 4 Laws of Malaysia Act 5 Part IV ELECTION AGENT, ELECTION EXPENSES AND ILLEGAL PRACTICES Section 12. Nomination of election agent 14. Making of appointments and contracts through election agent 13. 15. 15a. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 22a. 23. 24. 24a. 24b. 25. 26. 26a. 26b. 27. Disqualification for appointment as election agent, etc. Payment of expenses through election agent Prohibition of certain expenses during campaign period Period for sending in claims and making payments for election expenses Remuneration of election agent (Deleted) Expenses in excess of maximum to be illegal practice Certain expenditure to be illegal practice Certain employment to be illegal Saving for creditors Exemption from stamp duty Return and declaration respecting election expenses Publication of deposit of return, etc. Limitation of political propaganda on nomination day Election campaign and limitation thereof Employers to allow employees reasonable period for voting Limitation on polling day Booth to be provided by Election Commission (Deleted) Punishment for conviction for illegal practice Part IVa ENFORCEMENT TEAM 27a. Interpretation in relation to this Part 27c. Membership of the enforcement team 27b. 27d. 27e. Establishment of enforcement team Area of control of the enforcement team Functions of the enforcement team Election Offences Section 27f. Appointment of the representative of the political party 27h. Complaint to the returning officer 27g. 5 Decision of the enforcement team Part V EXCUSE FOR CORRUPT OR ILLEGAL PRACTICE 28. 29. 30. 30a. Report exonerating candidate in certain cases of corrupt and illegal practice by agents Power to except innocent act from being illegal practice, etc. Authorized excuse for non-compliance with provisions as to return and declaration respecting election expenses Period for making application for excuse Part VI GROUNDS FOR AVOIDING ELECTIONS 31. 32. Avoidance by conviction of candidate Avoidance of election on election petition Part VII ELECTION PETITIONS 33. Appointment and powers of Election Judge 35. Relief which may be claimed 34. 35a. 36. 36a. 36b. 36c. 37. 38. 39. Who may present petition Time for completion of trial of election petition Determination of Election Judge Appeal Time for completion of hearing of appeal Effect of decision of Election Judge or Federal Court Report of Judge or Registrar as to corrupt or illegal practice Time for presentation Prohibition of disclosure of vote 6 Laws of Malaysia Act 5 Section 40. Votes to be struck off at a scrutiny 41. Rejection of ballot paper by returning officer or presiding officer to be final 42. Procedure and practice on election petitions First Schedule Second Schedule Election Offences 7 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 5 ELECTION OFFENCES ACT 1954 An Act to prevent electoral offences and corrupt and illegal practices at elections; to provide for the establishment of enforcement teams and for matters connected therewith; to provide for the appointment of election agents and to control election expenses; and to provide for election petitions. [Peninsular Malaysia, *Federal Territory of Putrajaya—30 April 1954; † Sabah, **Federal Territory of Labuan —1 August 1965, P.U. 176/1966; †† Sarawak—1 November 1966, P.U. 227/1967] Part I PRELIMINARY AND INTERPRETATION Short title and application 1. This Act may be cited as the Election Offences Act 1954 and shall apply throughout Malaysia. Interpretation 2. (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— “authorized” means authorized by or under any written law relating to an election; NOTE—see section 6 of Act A1095. NOTE—see section 6 of Act A585. † NOTE—For extension and modification of Act to Sabah, see P.U. 56/1966, P.U. 144/1966, P.U. 498/1966, P.U. 348/1967. †† NOTE—For extension and modification of Act to Sarawak, see P.U. 497/1966, P.U. 349/4967, P.U. 55/1968. * ** 8 Laws of Malaysia Act 5 “campaign period”, in relation to an election, means the period during which any candidate or his election agent is allowed to hold election campaign in the candidate’s constituency, being the period commencing from the time the returning officer declares that a poll will be taken in the constituency for which he is appointed and ending on the expiration of the day before polling day; “constituency” means an area prescribed under the provisions of any written law for the purpose of an election; “election” means an election held in accordance with the provisions of any written law relating to the election of persons to be members of the Dewan Rakyat, a Legislative Assembly or a local authority; “election agent” means the person appointed under section 12 by a candidate for election to be his agent for such election; “Election Judge” means the Chief Judge or any Judge nominated by the Chief Judge under section 33; “enforcement team” means an enforcement team established under section 27b; “entitled” means entitled by or under any written law relating to an election; “polling day”, in relation to an election, means the period, which may extend over one or more days, commencing from the commencement of the day on which the taking of polls in that election is scheduled to commence and ending at the time of the declaration by the returning officer of the result of the election; “proper officer” means the officer or person appointed by or under any written law relating to an election to be in charge, or to have the conduct, thereof; “returning officer” has the same meaning as in the Elections Act 1958 [Act 19]. (2) Any word or expression used in this Act, the meaning of which is defined in any written law relating to any election, shall have the same meaning in this Act, for the purposes of and Election Offences 9 with reference to such election, as it has in the said written law; and any reference in this Act to any person or official shall be construed, for the purposes of and with reference to any election, as a reference to any equivalent person or official appointed under or by virtue of any written law relating to such election. Part II ELECTORAL OFFENCES Offences by any person 3. (1) Any person who— (a) knowingly makes any false statement on or in connection with any application to be placed on any register of electors; (b) forges or fraudulently defaces or fraudulently destroys any nomination paper, or delivers to a returning officer any nomination paper knowing the same to be forged; (c) forges or counterfeits or fraudulently defaces or fraudulently destroys any ballot paper or the official mark on any ballot paper; (d) without due authority supplies any ballot paper to any person; (e) sells or offers to sell any ballot paper to any person or purchases or offers to purchase any ballot paper from any person; (f) not being a person entitled to be in possession of any ballot paper which has been marked with any authorized mark has any such ballot paper in his possession; (g) puts into any ballot box anything other than the ballot paper which he is authorized by law to put in; (h) without due authority takes out of the polling station any ballot paper or is found in possession of any ballot paper outside a polling station; 10 Laws of Malaysia Act 5 (i) without due authority destroys, takes, opens, or otherwise interferes with any ballot box, ballot paper or packet of ballot papers in use or intended to be used for the purposes of an election; (j) without due authority prints any ballot paper or what purports to be or is capable of being used as a ballot paper at an election; (k) for the purposes of an election, manufactures, constructs, imports, has in his possession, supplies or uses, or causes to be manufactured, constructed, imported, supplied or used, any appliance, device or mechanism by which a ballot paper may be extracted, affected or manipulated after having been deposited in a ballot box during the polling at any election; (l) votes at any election when he is not entitled to vote thereat; (m) prints any advertisement, handbill, placard or poster which refers to an election and contains a reproduction of a ballot paper, or of what purports to be a ballot paper, to be used or likely to be used at such election; (n) obstructs or prevents a voter who is otherwise entitled to vote from voting at an election; or (o) votes in an election at more than one polling station in the same constituency or a different constituency, shall be liable, on conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine not exceeding five thousand ringgit or to both such imprisonment and fine and, subject to any provision to the contrary in any written law relating to any election, shall until the expiration of five years from such conviction, be incapable of being registered or listed as an elector or of voting at any election or of being elected at any election, and if at that date he has been elected at any election, his seat shall be vacated from the date of such conviction: Provided that nothing in paragraph (m) shall be deemed to prohibit, during the campaign period, the printing in any such advertisement, handbill, placard or poster of the name or symbol of one candidate only, together with a reproduction of a cross or other mark indicating approval of any such name or symbol. Election Offences 11 (2) Any person who has been convicted of an offence under subsection 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948 [Act 15], which is an offence by reason of paragraph 3(1)(f) of that Act shall, until the expiration of five years from such conviction, be incapable of being elected at any election, and if at that date of such conviction he has been elected at any election, his seat shall be vacated from that date. Offences by election officers 4. Any officer, clerk, interpreter or other person having any duty to perform pursuant to any written law relating to any election who— (a) makes, in any record, return or other document which he is required to keep or make under such written law, any entry which he knows or has reasonable cause to believe to be false, or does not believe to be true; (b) permits any person whom he knows or has reasonable cause to believe not to be a blind person or an incapacitated person to vote in the manner provided for blind persons or incapacitated persons, as the case may be; (c) refuses to permit any person whom he knows or has reasonable cause to believe to be a blind person or an incapacitated person to vote in the manner provided for blind persons or incapacitated persons, a