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Falekaupule Act - Kaupule (Registration of Voters) Regulations

LAWS OF TUVALU
2008 Revised Edition

KAUPULE (REGISTRATION OF VOTERS) REGULATIONS

CAP. 4.08.2

Arrangement of Regulations

Regulation

1 Citation
2 Interpretation
3 Appointment of registration officers and revising officers
4 Appointment of assistant registration officers
5 Remuneration of officers and expenses of preparing registers
6 Preparation of registers
7 Notice inviting claims of voters
8 Notice of claim to vote
9 List of voters
10 Procedure as to omissions and objections
11 Public inquiry and revision of lists
12 Inquiry and revision procedure
13 Settlement of lists of voters
14 Special provisions for preparation of register of voters for persons living in Niulakita
15 Register of voters, and annual revision
16 Only single registration permitted
17 Power to enlarge time

SCHEDULE

NOTICE TO ELECTORS

APPLICATION TO BE REGISTERED AS A VOTER

LIST OF VOTERS

NOTICE OF OMISSION FROM LIST OF VOTERS

NOTICE OF OBJECTION TO RETENTION OF NAME IN LIST OF VOTERS 14

Supporting Documents

ENDNOTES

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KAUPULE (REGISTRATION OF VOTERS) REGULATIONS¹

1 Citation

These Regulations may be cited as the Kaupule (Registration of Voters) Regulations.

2 Interpretation

In these Regulations unless the context otherwise requires —

"assistant registration officer" means an assistant registration officer appointed under regulation 4(1);

"register of voters" means a register of voters prepared in accordance with these Regulations;

"registration officer" means any person appointed as such under regulation 3(1);

"revising officer" means any person appointed as such under regulation 3(2);

"ward" means an electoral ward constituted in accordance with regulation 3 of the Kaupule (Elections) Regulations.

3 Appointment of registration officers and revising officers

(1) For the registration of voters, there shall be a registration officer for each Falekaupule area, who shall be appointed by the Minister by notice.

(2) For the revision of lists of voters, there shall be a revising officer for each Falekaupule area, who shall be appointed by the Minister by notice.

4 Appointment of assistant registration officers

(1) A registration officer may appoint fit and proper persons to be assistant registration officers for one or more wards to assist him in the preparation of the register of voters in accordance with these Regulations.

(2) Subject to the authority, direction and control of the registration officer, an assistant registration officer shall have all the powers and may perform any of the duties of a registration officer.

5 Remuneration of officers and expenses of preparing registers

(1) Registration officers, assistant registration officers and revising officers shall receive such remuneration for their services as the Minister may authorise.

(2) All expenses properly incurred in the preparation of registers of voters, including the remuneration of the officers provided for in paragraph (1), shall be a charge upon the general revenue of the appropriate Kaupule.

6 Preparation of registers

Where there is not in existence in any Falekaupule area a register of voters in that area, the registration officer for that area shall forthwith, and thereafter, notwithstanding that there is in existence such a register, at intervals of 4 years or such other period as the Minister may by notice appoint, cause to be prepared a new register of voters in the manner prescribed in regulations 7 to 13.

7 Notice inviting claims of voters

Every registration officer shall publish in each ward in the area for which he has been appointed, in such manner as he may deem appropriate, a notice in Form A in the Schedule requiring, within 21 days of the publication of such notice, all persons who desire and claim to be entitled to be registered as voters in the ward concerned to deliver to the registration officer or an assistant registration officer for that ward, a notice, in Form B in the Schedule, of his claim to be so registered.

8 Notice of claim to vote

(1) Within the period of 21 days mentioned in regulation 7, every person who desires, and is entitled, to be registered as a voter in any ward shall deliver or cause to be delivered to the registration officer, or an assistant registration officer for that ward, a notice in Form B in the Schedule of his claim to be registered as a voter and shall produce such evidence as may be necessary to establish his claim to be so registered.

(2) The registration officer or an assistant registration officer shall examine the qualifications in respect of which such claim is made and shall receive such evidence as may be necessary to prove to his satisfaction that the claimant possesses the qualifications in respect of which he claims to be a voter.

(3) In any case where the registration officer or assistant registration officer, as the case may be, is satisfied that the claimant possesses the necessary qualifications he shall register the claimant in the manner hereinafter provided, otherwise he shall disallow the claim.

9 List of voters

The registration officer shall, within the space of 14 days from the last day upon which any notice of claim as provided in regulation 8(1) is allowed to be made, make out, or cause to be made out, an alphabetical list for each ward in Form C in the Schedule of all persons who in his opinion are entitled to be registered as voters in that ward and shall cause a copy of such list dated and signed by him or an assistant registration officer to be published in such manner as he may deem fit in the ward to which it relates.

10 Procedure as to omissions and objections

(1) Every person whose name has been omitted from any such list of voters in any ward and who claims to have his name inserted therein shall within 10 days after the publication of such list give notice in writing to the registration officer or an assistant registration officer for that ward in Form D in the Schedule.

(2) Every person whose name appears in any such list may object to any other person whose name also appears therein as not being entitled to have his name retained therein by giving notice in writing, in Form E in the Schedule, to the registration officer or an assistant registration officer for the ward concerned, and to the person objected to, within 10 days after publication of the list.

(3) If any notice as aforesaid is received, the registration officer or an assistant registration officer shall, within 7 days of the expiration of the aforesaid period of 10 days, prepare and publish, or cause to be prepared and published, in each ward a list of all the claims and objections relating to the list of voters in that ward, and the names of the persons who have made the same.

11 Public inquiry and revision of lists

(1) The registration officer shall, within 7 days of the expiration of the period of 10 days prescribed in regulation 10, cause all the lists of voters for the Falekaupule area for which he has been appointed to be handed over to the revising officer for that area, together with any notice of claims and objections received in respect of the said lists.

(2) Where a revising officer has handed to him any notices of claim or objection with the lists of voters, he shall upon giving such notice as is prescribed by the proviso to regulation 12(5), proceed, within 10 days of the receipt of the notices and list aforesaid, to hold a public inquiry into all the claims and objections of which notice has been received, and to revise the said lists in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations.

12 Inquiry and revision procedure

(1) The revising officer, upon consideration of the claims and objections, and any evidence made available thereon, shall —

(a) insert in the appropriate list of voters the name of every person who is proved to his satisfaction to be entitled to have his name inserted therein;

(b) strike out of any list of voters the name of every person who, upon the application of the objector, is proved to his satisfaction not to be entitled to have his name retained therein.

(2) If an objector does not appear either in person or by counsel, the objection shall be overruled and the name of the person objected to shall be retained on the list of voters, unless such person agrees to his name being struck out, or it is otherwise proved that the person objected to is dead.

(3) A revising officer may, at or in respect of any inquiry under these Regulations —

(a) summons any person to appear at the inquiry;

(b) require any person at the inquiry to give such information as he may consider necessary for the due discharge of his duties; and

(c) take evidence on oath, and is for that purpose hereby authorised to administer oaths.

(4) Every revising officer shall, in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations, determine all claims in respect of and objection to the lists of voters in his area, and shall write his initials against every name struck out of a list and against any mistake or omission corrected, and shall sign his name to every page of each list when the same is finally settled.

(5) The revising officer may, subject to the provisions of regulations 11 (2) and 13 (1), hold the public inquiry at such places within the Falekaupule area for which he has been appointed, and at such times, as he thinks fit, and may likewise adjourn the inquiry from place to place and time to time:

Provided that the revising officer shall, in such manner as he may consider appropriate, give not less than 6 days' notice of the places and times at which the inquiry is to be held.

(6) If the revising officer is of the opinion that the objection or claim of any person is without foundation or is frivolous, he may order such person to pay such sum as appears to him to represent the actual costs of the inquiry (including the costs of witnesses) attributable to the objection or claim, and such order shall be deemed to be an order of a magistrate's court and may be executed on the application of a registration officer or an assistant registration officer in any manner authorised by law for the execution of orders, judgments or degrees of competent courts in Tuvalu.

13 Settlement of lists of voters

(1) The list of voters shall be finally settled and signed by the revising officer and then delivered by him to the registration officer within 7 days of —

(a) the commencement of the public inquiry, where notices of claims or objections have been received;

(b) the date of the receipt by the revising officer of the lists of voters, where no notices of claims or objections have been received.

(2) The registration officer shall thereupon cause the names on each list to be fairly and truly recorded, ward by ward, in alphabetical order in a book to be provided by him for that purpose, with every name therein numbered, beginning to number from the first name and continuing in a regular series to the last name, and shall cause such recording to be completed within 10 days after the delivery to him of such revised list by the revising officer.

14 Special provisions for preparation of register of voters for persons living in Niulakita

(1) The part of the register of voters for the area of Niutao Kaupule comprising the island of Niulakita shall be prepared in accordance with the following provisions of this regulation and, notwithstanding anything in these regulations to the contrary, regulations 7 to 13 shall be deemed to have no application to such preparation.

(2) Whenever, in pursuance of regulation 6, a new register of voters is to be prepared for the area of Niutao Kaupule, the Minister shall appoint a public officer, hereinafter referred to as the Niulakita registration officer, who shall as soon as practical by such means as he considers most appropriate, inform persons living on the island of Niulakita the place and time at which he will receive applications from such persons who desire and claim to be entitled to register as voters for the area of Niutao Kaupule.

(3) Every application under paragraph (2) shall be in the form of Form B in the Schedule and every applicant shall produce such evidence as may be necessary to establish his claim to be registered.

(4) When the Niulakita registration officer is satisfied that there are no more applications, he shall prepare and publicly read out or cause to be read out in Niulakita an alphabetical list of names of the applicants who in his opinion are entitled to be registered as voters for the area of Niutao Kaupule.

(5) On completion of the reading out of the list in accordance with paragraph (4) the Niulakita registration officer shall invite objections —

• (a) from any person whose name has been omitted from the list and who claims he is entitled to be registered as a voter for the area of the Niutao Kaupule; or

• (b) from any person whose name has been included in such list and who objects to any name that has been read out on the ground that the person concerned is not entitled to be registered as a voter for the area of Niutao Kaupule.

(6) When the Niulakita registration officer is satisfied that there are no more objections he shall investigate every objection, and any evidence made available to him thereon, and determine whether or not to enter the name in the list prepared under paragraph (4) or whether or not to strike out the name, as the case may be.

(7) When the Niulakita registration officer has dealt with every objection under paragraph (6) and completed the consequential additions to and deletions from the list prepared under paragraph (4), he shall as soon as practical cause the said list to be communicated to the registration officer appointed for the area of Niutao Kaupule and the said registration officer, provided the names do not already appear in the list hereinafter referred to, shall then cause the names on the said list to be amalgamated with the list of voters delivered to him in accordance with regulation 13(1) and fairly and truly recorded in the book provided in accordance with regulation 13(2).

15 Register of voters, and annual revision

(1) The book or books in which the revised lists for the several wards are copied shall be the register of voters for that Falekaupule area and shall, subject to any deletions or additions made under paragraphs (2) and (3), remain in force until the next register of voters has been completed and shall be prima facie evidence for the purpose of determining whether or not a person is entitled to vote at an election in any ward:

Provided that nothing in this regulation shall entitle any person to vote at any election if he is not qualified or is disqualified from so voting by the law in force in Tuvalu.

(2) Every registration officer, between 1st January and 1st April in each of the 3 successive years immediately following the year during which the register of voters in his area was completed, shall —

(a) in the manner prescribed by regulation 7, invite any person whose name is not on the register and who desires and claims that he is entitled to be registered as a voter to give notice of his claim; and

(b) if he is satisfied that any person has died, become disqualified or is not qualified, strike off from the register of voters the name of that person.

(3) Where the registration officer is satisfied that any person claiming under paragraph (2)(a) is eligible to have his name entered on the register of voters he shall enter the name of such person on the register.

(4) The registration officer shall publish annually, in such manner as may seem appropriate to him, a list showing the names so entered or struck off the register of voters.

16 Only single registration permitted

No person shall be registered as a voter in more than 1 ward, whether in the same Falekaupule area or otherwise.

17 Power to enlarge time

Notwithstanding that any provision of these Regulations required any act or thing to be done within a specified time, the Minister may, by order, enlarge such time subject to such terms and conditions as he shall specify.

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SCHEDULE

FORM A

(Regulation 7)

NOTICE TO ELECTORS

ALL persons who desire and are entitled to be registered as voters for the election of a member of the Kaupule (other than those of such persons whose names appear on the existing register of voters for the Falekaupule area)* are hereby required to deliver or cause to be delivered their claim in writing for that purpose on or before the ..................day of ....................................20 ................. to the Registration Officer† or to the Assistant Registration Officer.†

The necessary forms of claim may be obtained at the Registration Officer's office, or from the Assistant Registration Officer, at

Dated this ...................day of ......................................................................, 20..............

REGISTRATION OFFICER.........................................

____________________________________
*Delete where a new register is being prepared.
†Strike out whichever does not apply.

_________________

FORM B
(Regulations 7 and 8)

APPLICATION TO BE REGISTERED AS A VOTER

I, .....................................................(full name), of ..........................................(address), hereby claim to be entitled to be registered as a voter for the election of a member of the ........................................................... Kaupule for the ...................................... ward.

And I declare that —

1. I am a citizen of Tuvalu.

2. I have attained the age of 18 years.

3. I am a person resident within the .............................................Falekaupule area, and my place of residence during the period of 12 months immediately prior to the date of this application has been as follows*

......................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................

4. I am not, nor have I applied to be, registered as a voter in any other ward of the Falekaupule area or in any other Falekaupule area.

5. I am not disqualified for registration as a voter under any of the provisions of the Falekaupule Act.

Dated this ...................day of ......................................................................, 2..............

IN THE PRESENCE OF ..............................................

(Signature or mark)

..............................................

(Signature or mark of witness)

NOTE.-*If more than one place of residence give details with dates.

________________

FORM C

(Regulation 9)

LIST OF VOTERS

Kaupule............................................. Ward ......................................................................

Dated this ...................day of ......................................................................, 20..............

...................................................................................

Registration Officer or Assistant Registration Officer

______________________

FORM D
(Regulation 10)

NOTICE OF OMISSION FROM LIST OF VOTERS

To: THE REGISTRATION OFFICER OR ASSISTANT REGISTRATION OFFICER

I ...................................................., of ............................................................, hereby give you notice that I object to the omission of my name from the List of Voters for the ..................................................ward of .....................................Falekaupule area and that I claim to have my name inserted in the said List as a Voter on the following grounds —
Dated this ...................day of ......................................................................, 20..............

..............................................

(Signature or mark)

IN THE PRESENCE OF ..............................................

(Signature or mark of witness)

_________________

FORM E
(Regulation 10)

NOTICE OF OBJECTION TO RETENTION OF NAME IN LIST OF VOTERS

1. Notice to Registration Officer.

To: THE REGISTRATION OFFICER OR ASSISTANT REGISTRATION OFFICER

I ...................................................., of .............................................., being a person whose
name appears in the List of Voters for the .........................................ward
...........................................Falekaupule area, hereby give you notice that I object to the
name of ........................................being retained in the said List on the grounds that —

Dated this ...................day of ......................................................................, 20..............

..............................................

(Signature or mark of objector)

IN THE PRESENCE OF ..............................................

(Signature or mark of witness)

2. Notice to person objected to.

To:

I ......................................................, of ................................................, being a person
whose name appears in the List of Voters for the ..............................................ward
...........................................Falekaupule area, hereby give you notice that I object to your
name being retained in the List of Voters for the said ward of ................................
Falekaupule area on the grounds that .................................................................and that you
will be required to prove your qualification at the time of revising the said List.

Dated this ...................day of ......................................................................, 20..............

..............................................

(Signature or mark of objector)

IN THE PRESENCE OF ..............................................

(Signature or mark of witness)

ENDNOTES
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1 Made under the Local Government Act but adapted and continued in force under section 131 of the Falekaupule Act
LNs 10/1966, 8/1971, LN40/1973, 11/1977, 18/1977