Calling for Singapore National Referendum on Vote of No Confidence on Pro-Artificial Intelligence Robotic Clone Government

Singapore National Referendum Ordinance.

Bill No. 156/1961

Read the first time on 27th November 1961.

An Ordinance to provide for the holding of a national referendum and for matters connected therewith.

Be it enacted by the Yang di-Pertuan Negara with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore, as follows: —

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Singapore National Referendum Ordinance

Status:

Published in Bills Supplement

on 15 Dec 1961

32 Maintenance of secrecy at referendum

Singapore National Referendum Ordinance

Bill No. 156/1961

Read the first time on 27th November 1961.

An Ordinance to provide for the holding of a national referendum and for matters connected therewith.

Be it enacted by the Yang di-Pertuan Negara with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore, as follows: —

PART I

PRELIMINARY

Short title

1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Singapore National Referendum Ordinance, 1961.

Interpretation

2. In this Ordinance —

“elector” means a person whose name is entered as an elector in a register of electors prepared under the provisions of the Singapore Legislative Assembly Elections Ordinance (Cap. 53);

“referendum” means the submission to the electors of any matter by an order of the Yang di-Pertuan Negara made in accordance with the provisions of subsection (1) of section 5 of this Ordinance;

“Superintendent” means the Superintendent appointed under section 3 of this Ordinance;

“voter” means a person who, whether his name does or does not appear in a register of electors prepared under the provisions of the Singapore Legislative Assembly Elections Ordinance, applies to vote or votes at a referendum.

Appointment of officers

3.—(1) The Minister may appoint a Superintendent and such Assistant Superintendents as he may from time to time think fit.

(2) An Assistant Superintendent shall have all the powers and may perform all the duties of the Superintendent and any reference in this Ordinance to the Superintendent shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be deemed to include a reference to an Assistant Superintendent.

(3) An appointment made by the Minister under this section may be revoked by him at any time.

Appointment of clerks and interpreters

4. The Superintendent may from time to time appoint such numbers of clerks and interpreters as may be necessary for the purposes of this Ordinance and such appointments may be revoked at any time.

PART II

REFERENDUM

Order for referendum to be taken

5.—(1) Whenever the Yang di-Pertuan Negara considers that it is in the public interest to do so he may by order direct that any matter be submitted to the electors for a referendum.

(2) Where a matter is submitted to the electors for a referendum, the vote shall be given in such manner as is prescribed in this Ordinance.

Notification of referendum

6. On the Yang di-Pertuan Negara issuing the order referred to in section 5 of this Ordinance, the Minister shall notify in the Gazette the date of the referendum at least seven days before the day fixed for such referendum.

Further order if necessary

7. If at any time after the Yang di-Pertuan Negara has issued the order referred to in section 5 of this Ordinance it is shown to his satisfaction that owing to any cause whatsoever no referendum has taken place in pursuance of such order, he may at any time thereafter issue another order for the same purpose.

Entitlement to vote

8. Every elector whose name is included in the register of electors prepared under the provisions of the Singapore Legislative Assembly Elections Ordinance shall be entitled to vote at a referendum.

Single vote

9. An elector shall be entitled to vote only once at any referendum. If he votes more than once, he shall be guilty of an illegal practice under this Ordinance.

Registers of electors to be conclusive evidence of right to vote

10.—(1) Without prejudice to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, the register of electors prepared under the provisions of the Singapore Legislative Assembly Elections Ordinance, hereinafter in this Ordinance referred to as the “register of electors”, shall be conclusive evidence for the purpose of determining whether a person is or is not entitled to vote at any referendum.

(2) No person who, by reason of circumstances existing on the day of any referendum, is not, by virtue of the provisions of section 5 or 6 of the Singapore Legislative Assembly Elections Ordinance, entitled to have his name entered or retained in any register of electors, shall be entitled to vote at such referendum and if such person votes at such referendum he shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months.

(3) Nothing in this section shall affect the liability of any person to any penalty for an infringement of the provisions of section 9 of this Ordinance relating to plural voting.

Electoral divisions and polling districts

11. For the purpose of taking a referendum, the Superintendent shall adopt the existing electoral divisions and polling districts specified under the provisions of the Singapore Legislative Assembly Elections Ordinance.

Polling stations, polling places and symbols

12.—(1) The Superintendent shall provide as many polling stations for a polling district as are in his opinion sufficient for that polling district and may in his discretion provide as many polling places within each polling station as he deems necessary.

(2) For the purpose of taking a referendum, the Superintendent may adopt such symbols as he thinks fit and such symbols shall be printed on the ballot paper.

Notification of polling stations and symbols

13. As soon as may be after the notification referred to in section 6 of this Ordinance has been published and in any case, not later than five days before the date of the referendum, the Superintendent shall publish in the Gazette a notice specifying the polling stations to be used in the polling districts and electoral divisions for the referendum. Such notice shall also specify the questions to be submitted to the electors and the symbols to be used in connection therewith.

Polling day at referendum to be public holiday

14.—(1) The day fixed for the taking of a referendum, hereinafter in this Ordinance (Cap. 270) referred to as “polling day”, shall be a public holiday as though it had been so expressly appointed in addition to the days mentioned in Schedule A to the Holidays Ordinance.

(2) Nothing contained in section 4 or 7 of the Holidays Ordinance shall affect the performance on such polling day of any act or thing relating to public offices and departments concerned with the referendum or of the duty to vote imposed by section 21 of this Ordinance.

Presiding officers

15.—(1) The Superintendent shall appoint, and may revoke the appointment of, one or more persons, hereinafter in this Ordinance referred to as “presiding officers”, to preside at each polling station. If more than one presiding officer is appointed for any polling station, the Superintendent may appoint one of the presiding officers to be the senior presiding officer who shall exercise general supervision over the other presiding officers, and over all arrangements for the taking of the vote in that station. Each presiding officer shall be supplied with a copy of that part of the register of electors containing the names of electors in such register assigned to his polling place.

(2) If any presiding officer is, by sickness or other cause, prevented from performing any of his duties under the provisions of this Ordinance, and there is not time for another person to be appointed by the Superintendent, the presiding officer may appoint a deputy to act for him. Every such appointment shall as soon as possible be reported to the Superintendent and may be revoked by the Superintendent, but without prejudice to the validity of anything already done by such deputy.

(3) The Superintendent may, if he thinks fit, preside at any polling station and the provisions of this Ordinance relating to a presiding officer shall apply to such Superintendent.

Facilities to be provided at polling stations

16.—(1) Outside each polling station there shall be fixed in a conspicuous place by the presiding officer before the commencement of the poll a notice in English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil giving directions for the guidance of voters.

(2) It shall be the duty of the Superintendent to provide at each polling station reasonable facilities for the electors allotted to such station to enable them to mark their votes, screened from observation, and to vote in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance, and he shall determine or may authorise the presiding officer or senior presiding officer to determine, in what manner such facilities shall be distributed among the electors entitled to vote at such station.

(3) The referendum shall not be questioned by reason only of non-compliance with any of the provisions of this section.

Admittance to polling station

17.—(1) No person shall be admitted to vote at any polling station except the one allotted to him:

Provided that where an elector for any electoral division is employed as a presiding officer, police officer, or in any other official capacity at a polling station, and it is inconvenient for him to vote at the polling station which has been allotted to him, the Superintendent may authorise the elector, by a certificate to vote at the polling station at which he is employed, and that polling station shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be the polling station allotted to such elector.

(2) Such certificate shall be given under the hand of the Superintendent and shall state the name of the elector, his number, and description in the register of electors, and the fact that he is so employed as aforesaid.

(3) Unless the Minister, by notification in the Gazette, appoints any other hour, the voting shall open at eight o’clock in the forenoon of the day specified in the notification published under the provisions of section 6 of this Ordinance and shall close at eight o’clock in the afternoon of that day.

(4) The presiding officer shall keep order in his station, and shall regulate the number of voters to be admitted at a time, and shall exclude all other persons except the Superintendent and persons authorized in writing by the Superintendent, the police officers on duty and other persons officially employed at the polling station.

(5) The Superintendent may, at his discretion, allow the political parties represented in the Legislative Assembly to appoint agents, hereinafter in this Ordinance referred to as “polling agents”, to the polling stations, provided that where, at any polling station more polling places than one have been established, the Superintendent may, at his discretion, allow such political parties to appoint a polling agent to each such polling place.

(6) The president or the secretary of such political party shall appoint every polling agent and shall on polling day notify the presiding officer at a polling station in writing the name and address of the polling agent or agents appointed to act at such station.

(7) No polling agent whose name has not been notified to the presiding officer as required under the provisions of subsection (6) of this section shall be admitted to a polling station.

(8) If any person misconducts himself in the polling station, or fails to obey the lawful orders of the presiding officer, he may immediately, by order of the presiding officer, be removed from the polling station by any police officer in or near that station or by any other person authorized in writing by the presiding officer or by the Superintendent to remove him; and the person so removed shall not, unless with the permission of the presiding officer, again be allowed to enter the polling station. Any person so removed as aforesaid, if charged with the commission in such station of any offence, may be kept in custody until he can be brought before a magistrate.

(9) The powers conferred by this section shall not be exercised so as to prevent any elector who is otherwise entitled to vote at any polling station from having an opportunity of voting at such station.

Poll by ballot and ballot papers

18.—(1) At a referendum, the votes shall be given by ballot, and the ballot of each voter shall consist of a paper, hereinafter in this Ordinance referred to as a “ballot paper”.

(2) Every ballot paper shall be in English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil.

(3) Each ballot paper shall have a number printed on the back and shall have attached thereto a counterfoil with the same number printed on the face thereof.

Ballot boxes

19.—(1) Every ballot box shall be so constructed that the ballot papers can be introduced therein but cannot be withdrawn therefrom unless the box is unlocked.

(2) The presiding officer at a polling station immediately before the commencement of the voting, shall show each ballot box to be used at the commencement of the voting empty to such persons, if any, as may be present in such station so that they may see that it is empty, and shall then lock it up and place his seal upon it in such manner as to prevent it being opened without breaking such seal, and shall place it in his view for the receipt of ballot papers and keep it so locked and sealed.

(3) The provisions of subsection (2) of this section shall apply to every ballot box used during a referendum and it shall be sufficient compliance with those provisions if a ballot box is shown, locked up and sealed as aforesaid, before it is used.

Manner of voting

20.—(1) Each voter entitled to vote shall be given one ballot paper and shall have one vote.

(2) The ballot paper shall be delivered to the voter by the presiding officer or a person acting under his authority. Immediately before the ballot paper is delivered to the voter, the paper shall be stamped on the back or perforated with the official mark or initialled by the presiding officer; and the number, name and description of the voter, as stated in the copy of the register of electors, shall be called out, and the number of such elector shall be marked on the counterfoil, and a mark shall be placed in the register of electors against the number of the elector to denote that he has received a ballot paper but without showing the particulars of the ballot paper which he has received.

(3) The voter, on receiving the ballot paper shall forthwith proceed to such place in the station as may be indicated by the presiding officer or by any person acting under such officer’s authority, and shall there secretly mark such paper as near as may be in accordance with the directions given for the guidance of voters under this Ordinance. The voter shall then fold the paper so as to conceal his vote, and shall put such paper so folded up into the ballot box. He shall vote without undue delay and shall leave the polling station as soon as he has put his ballot paper into the ballot box.

(4) The presiding officer or any person authorized by him may ask any voter if such voter understands the method of voting in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance and may, if he thinks fit, on the application of any voter, explain to the voter in the presence of any polling agents, if present, the method of voting in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance; but in so doing he shall carefully abstain from any action which might be construed by the voter as advice or a direction to vote in any particular manner.

(5) The presiding officer, on the application of a voter who is incapacitated by blindness or other physical cause from voting in the manner prescribed by this Ordinance, shall mark the ballot paper of such voter in the manner directed by the voter, and shall cause such ballot paper to be placed in the ballot box.

(6) The presiding officer may at any time while voting is proceeding take such steps as may be necessary to ensure that no voter delays unduly in any place reserved for the marking of ballot papers.

Compulsory voting

21.—(1) Every elector shall record his vote in the electoral division for which he is registered.

(2) The Superintendent shall, at the close of the referendum, prepare a list of the numbers, names and descriptions as stated in the register of electors of such electors as have failed to vote at the referendum and certify the list under his hand.

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of section 26 of this Ordinance, it shall be lawful for the Superintendent to break the seals of packets containing the marked copies of the registers of electors and to inspect and retain such copies for the purpose of preparing the list referred to in subsection (2) of this section and of any inquiries connected therewith.

(4) The list prepared by the Superintendent under the provisions of subsection (2) of this section shall be forwarded by the Superintendent to the Registration Officer appointed under the provisions of section 3 of the Singapore Legislative Assembly Elections Ordinance (Cap. 53), hereinafter in this Ordinance referred to as the “Registration Officer”.

(5) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Ordinance, the Registration Officer shall on receipt of such list cause the names of all persons appearing in the list to be expunged from the register of electors.

(6) The Registration Officer shall give notice in the Gazette that such list has been received by him from the Superintendent and that such list or copies thereof are open for inspection at all reasonable hours of the day at the office of the Registration Officer and at such other place or places in each electoral division as may be specified in such notice.

(7) Every person whose name appears on the list of which notice has been given by the Registration Officer under the provisions of subsection (6) of this section may make a written application for the restoration of his name to the register of electors.

(8) If any applicant referred to under the provisions of subsection (7) of this section satisfies the Registration Officer that he has a good and sufficient reason for not having recorded his vote his name shall be restored to the register of electors without penalty. Where such applicant does not so satisfy the Registration Officer his name shall be restored to the register of electors on payment to the Registration Officer of the sum of five dollars. Such names shall be restored to the register of electors at the next ensuing revision of such register.

Identification by voters

22.—(1) The presiding officer at any polling station may in his discretion require any voter, before he is given a ballot paper, to furnish such evidence of his identity as the presiding officer may deem necessary.

(2) If any person fails to furnish such evidence of his identity or if the presiding officer is not satisfied with any evidence furnished the presiding officer may refuse to give him a ballot paper.

Spoilt ballot papers

23. A voter who has inadvertently dealt with his ballot paper in such manner that it cannot be conveniently used as a ballot paper may, on delivering to the presiding officer the ballot paper so inadvertently dealt with, and on proving the fact of the inadvertence to the satisfaction of the presiding officer, obtain another ballot paper in place of the ballot paper so delivered up, hereinafter in this Ordinance referred to as a “spoilt ballot paper”, and the spoilt ballot paper shall be immediately cancelled by the presiding officer.

Tendered voters

24. If a person, representing himself to be a particular elector named in the register of electors, applies for a ballot paper after another person has voted as such elector, the applicant shall be entitled to receive a ballot paper and to vote in the same manner as any other voter, but the ballot paper, hereinafter in this Ordinance referred to as a “tendered ballot paper”, shall be of a colour different from the other ballot papers, and, before being placed in a ballot box, shall be endorsed by the presiding officer with the name of the voter and his number in the register.

Closing of voting

25. No ballot paper shall be delivered to a voter after the hour fixed for the closing of the voting. But if at the hour aforesaid there is in the polling station any voter to whom a ballot paper has been delivered, such voter shall be allowed to record his vote.

Singapore National Referendum Ordinance

Status:

Published in Bills Supplement

on 15 Dec 1961

28 Votes to be rejected

Singapore National Referendum Ordinance

Bill No. 156/1961

Read the first time on 27th November 1961.

An Ordinance to provide for the holding of a national referendum and for matters connected therewith.

Be it enacted by the Yang di-Pertuan Negara with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore, as follows: —

PART I

PRELIMINARY

Short title

1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Singapore National Referendum Ordinance, 1961.

Interpretation

2. In this Ordinance —

“elector” means a person whose name is entered as an elector in a register of electors prepared under the provisions of the Singapore Legislative Assembly Elections Ordinance (Cap. 53);

“referendum” means the submission to the electors of any matter by an order of the Yang di-Pertuan Negara made in accordance with the provisions of subsection (1) of section 5 of this Ordinance;

“Superintendent” means the Superintendent appointed under section 3 of this Ordinance;

“voter” means a person who, whether his name does or does not appear in a register of electors prepared under the provisions of the Singapore Legislative Assembly Elections Ordinance, applies to vote or votes at a referendum.

Appointment of officers

3.—(1) The Minister may appoint a Superintendent and such Assistant Superintendents as he may from time to time think fit.

(2) An Assistant Superintendent shall have all the powers and may perform all the duties of the Superintendent and any reference in this Ordinance to the Superintendent shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be deemed to include a reference to an Assistant Superintendent.

(3) An appointment made by the Minister under this section may be revoked by him at any time.

Appointment of clerks and interpreters

4. The Superintendent may from time to time appoint such numbers of clerks and interpreters as may be necessary for the purposes of this Ordinance and such appointments may be revoked at any time.

PART II

REFERENDUM

Order for referendum to be taken

5.—(1) Whenever the Yang di-Pertuan Negara considers that it is in the public interest to do so he may by order direct that any matter be submitted to the electors for a referendum.

(2) Where a matter is submitted to the electors for a referendum, the vote shall be given in such manner as is prescribed in this Ordinance.

Notification of referendum

6. On the Yang di-Pertuan Negara issuing the order referred to in section 5 of this Ordinance, the Minister shall notify in the Gazette the date of the referendum at least seven days before the day fixed for such referendum.

Further order if necessary

7. If at any time after the Yang di-Pertuan Negara has issued the order referred to in section 5 of this Ordinance it is shown to his satisfaction that owing to any cause whatsoever no referendum has taken place in pursuance of such order, he may at any time thereafter issue another order for the same purpose.

Entitlement to vote

8. Every elector whose name is included in the register of electors prepared under the provisions of the Singapore Legislative Assembly Elections Ordinance shall be entitled to vote at a referendum.

Single vote

9. An elector shall be entitled to vote only once at any referendum. If he votes more than once, he shall be guilty of an illegal practice under this Ordinance.

Registers of electors to be conclusive evidence of right to vote

10.—(1) Without prejudice to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, the register of electors prepared under the provisions of the Singapore Legislative Assembly Elections Ordinance, hereinafter in this Ordinance referred to as the “register of electors”, shall be conclusive evidence for the purpose of determining whether a person is or is not entitled to vote at any referendum.

(2) No person who, by reason of circumstances existing on the day of any referendum, is not, by virtue of the provisions of section 5 or 6 of the Singapore Legislative Assembly Elections Ordinance, entitled to have his name entered or retained in any register of electors, shall be entitled to vote at such referendum and if such person votes at such referendum he shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months.

(3) Nothing in this section shall affect the liability of any person to any penalty for an infringement of the provisions of section 9 of this Ordinance relating to plural voting.

Electoral divisions and polling districts

11. For the purpose of taking a referendum, the Superintendent shall adopt the existing electoral divisions and polling districts specified under the provisions of the Singapore Legislative Assembly Elections Ordinance.

Polling stations, polling places and symbols

12.—(1) The Superintendent shall provide as many polling stations for a polling district as are in his opinion sufficient for that polling district and may in his discretion provide as many polling places within each polling station as he deems necessary.

(2) For the purpose of taking a referendum, the Superintendent may adopt such symbols as he thinks fit and such symbols shall be printed on the ballot paper.

Notification of polling stations and symbols

13. As soon as may be after the notification referred to in section 6 of this Ordinance has been published and in any case, not later than five days before the date of the referendum, the Superintendent shall publish in the Gazette a notice specifying the polling stations to be used in the polling districts and electoral divisions for the referendum. Such notice shall also specify the questions to be submitted to the electors and the symbols to be used in connection therewith.

Polling day at referendum to be public holiday

14.—(1) The day fixed for the taking of a referendum, hereinafter in this Ordinance (Cap. 270) referred to as “polling day”, shall be a public holiday as though it had been so expressly appointed in addition to the days mentioned in Schedule A to the Holidays Ordinance.

(2) Nothing contained in section 4 or 7 of the Holidays Ordinance shall affect the performance on such polling day of any act or thing relating to public offices and departments concerned with the referendum or of the duty to vote imposed by section 21 of this Ordinance.

Presiding officers

15.—(1) The Superintendent shall appoint, and may revoke the appointment of, one or more persons, hereinafter in this Ordinance referred to as “presiding officers”, to preside at each polling station. If more than one presiding officer is appointed for any polling station, the Superintendent may appoint one of the presiding officers to be the senior presiding officer who shall exercise general supervision over the other presiding officers, and over all arrangements for the taking of the vote in that station. Each presiding officer shall be supplied with a copy of that part of the register of electors containing the names of electors in such register assigned to his polling place.

(2) If any presiding officer is, by sickness or other cause, prevented from performing any of his duties under the provisions of this Ordinance, and there is not time for another person to be appointed by the Superintendent, the presiding officer may appoint a deputy to act for him. Every such appointment shall as soon as possible be reported to the Superintendent and may be revoked by the Superintendent, but without prejudice to the validity of anything already done by such deputy.

(3) The Superintendent may, if he thinks fit, preside at any polling station and the provisions of this Ordinance relating to a presiding officer shall apply to such Superintendent.

Facilities to be provided at polling stations

16.—(1) Outside each polling station there shall be fixed in a conspicuous place by the presiding officer before the commencement of the poll a notice in English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil giving directions for the guidance of voters.

(2) It shall be the duty of the Superintendent to provide at each polling station reasonable facilities for the electors allotted to such station to enable them to mark their votes, screened from observation, and to vote in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance, and he shall determine or may authorise the presiding officer or senior presiding officer to determine, in what manner such facilities shall be distributed among the electors entitled to vote at such station.

(3) The referendum shall not be questioned by reason only of non-compliance with any of the provisions of this section.

Admittance to polling station

17.—(1) No person shall be admitted to vote at any polling station except the one allotted to him:

Provided that where an elector for any electoral division is employed as a presiding officer, police officer, or in any other official capacity at a polling station, and it is inconvenient for him to vote at the polling station which has been allotted to him, the Superintendent may authorise the elector, by a certificate to vote at the polling station at which he is employed, and that polling station shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be the polling station allotted to such elector.

(2) Such certificate shall be given under the hand of the Superintendent and shall state the name of the elector, his number, and description in the register of electors, and the fact that he is so employed as aforesaid.

(3) Unless the Minister, by notification in the Gazette, appoints any other hour, the voting shall open at eight o’clock in the forenoon of the day specified in the notification published under the provisions of section 6 of this Ordinance and shall close at eight o’clock in the afternoon of that day.

(4) The presiding officer shall keep order in his station, and shall regulate the number of voters to be admitted at a time, and shall exclude all other persons except the Superintendent and persons authorized in writing by the Superintendent, the police officers on duty and other persons officially employed at the polling station.

(5) The Superintendent may, at his discretion, allow the political parties represented in the Legislative Assembly to appoint agents, hereinafter in this Ordinance referred to as “polling agents”, to the polling stations, provided that where, at any polling station more polling places than one have been established, the Superintendent may, at his discretion, allow such political parties to appoint a polling agent to each such polling place.

(6) The president or the secretary of such political party shall appoint every polling agent and shall on polling day notify the presiding officer at a polling station in writing the name and address of the polling agent or agents appointed to act at such station.

(7) No polling agent whose name has not been notified to the presiding officer as required under the provisions of subsection (6) of this section shall be admitted to a polling station.

(8) If any person misconducts himself in the polling station, or fails to obey the lawful orders of the presiding officer, he may immediately, by order of the presiding officer, be removed from the polling station by any police officer in or near that station or by any other person authorized in writing by the presiding officer or by the Superintendent to remove him; and the person so removed shall not, unless with the permission of the presiding officer, again be allowed to enter the polling station. Any person so removed as aforesaid, if charged with the commission in such station of any offence, may be kept in custody until he can be brought before a magistrate.

(9) The powers conferred by this section shall not be exercised so as to prevent any elector who is otherwise entitled to vote at any polling station from having an opportunity of voting at such station.

Poll by ballot and ballot papers

18.—(1) At a referendum, the votes shall be given by ballot, and the ballot of each voter shall consist of a paper, hereinafter in this Ordinance referred to as a “ballot paper”.

(2) Every ballot paper shall be in English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil.

(3) Each ballot paper shall have a number printed on the back and shall have attached thereto a counterfoil with the same number printed on the face thereof.

Ballot boxes

19.—(1) Every ballot box shall be so constructed that the ballot papers can be introduced therein but cannot be withdrawn therefrom unless the box is unlocked.

(2) The presiding officer at a polling station immediately before the commencement of the voting, shall show each ballot box to be used at the commencement of the voting empty to such persons, if any, as may be present in such station so that they may see that it is empty, and shall then lock it up and place his seal upon it in such manner as to prevent it being opened without breaking such seal, and shall place it in his view for the receipt of ballot papers and keep it so locked and sealed.

(3) The provisions of subsection (2) of this section shall apply to every ballot box used during a referendum and it shall be sufficient compliance with those provisions if a ballot box is shown, locked up and sealed as aforesaid, before it is used.

Manner of voting

20.—(1) Each voter entitled to vote shall be given one ballot paper and shall have one vote.

(2) The ballot paper shall be delivered to the voter by the presiding officer or a person acting under his authority. Immediately before the ballot paper is delivered to the voter, the paper shall be stamped on the back or perforated with the official mark or initialled by the presiding officer; and the number, name and description of the voter, as stated in the copy of the register of electors, shall be called out, and the number of such elector shall be marked on the counterfoil, and a mark shall be placed in the register of electors against the number of the elector to denote that he has received a ballot paper but without showing the particulars of the ballot paper which he has received.

(3) The voter, on receiving the ballot paper shall forthwith proceed to such place in the station as may be indicated by the presiding officer or by any person acting under such officer’s authority, and shall there secretly mark such paper as near as may be in accordance with the directions given for the guidance of voters under this Ordinance. The voter shall then fold the paper so as to conceal his vote, and shall put such paper so folded up into the ballot box. He shall vote without undue delay and shall leave the polling station as soon as he has put his ballot paper into the ballot box.

(4) The presiding officer or any person authorized by him may ask any voter if such voter understands the method of voting in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance and may, if he thinks fit, on the application of any voter, explain to the voter in the presence of any polling agents, if present, the method of voting in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance; but in so doing he shall carefully abstain from any action which might be construed by the voter as advice or a direction to vote in any particular manner.

(5) The presiding officer, on the application of a voter who is incapacitated by blindness or other physical cause from voting in the manner prescribed by this Ordinance, shall mark the ballot paper of such voter in the manner directed by the voter, and shall cause such ballot paper to be placed in the ballot box.

(6) The presiding officer may at any time while voting is proceeding take such steps as may be necessary to ensure that no voter delays unduly in any place reserved for the marking of ballot papers.

Compulsory voting

21.—(1) Every elector shall record his vote in the electoral division for which he is registered.

(2) The Superintendent shall, at the close of the referendum, prepare a list of the numbers, names and descriptions as stated in the register of electors of such electors as have failed to vote at the referendum and certify the list under his hand.

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of section 26 of this Ordinance, it shall be lawful for the Superintendent to break the seals of packets containing the marked copies of the registers of electors and to inspect and retain such copies for the purpose of preparing the list referred to in subsection (2) of this section and of any inquiries connected therewith.

(4) The list prepared by the Superintendent under the provisions of subsection (2) of this section shall be forwarded by the Superintendent to the Registration Officer appointed under the provisions of section 3 of the Singapore Legislative Assembly Elections Ordinance (Cap. 53), hereinafter in this Ordinance referred to as the “Registration Officer”.

(5) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Ordinance, the Registration Officer shall on receipt of such list cause the names of all persons appearing in the list to be expunged from the register of electors.

(6) The Registration Officer shall give notice in the Gazette that such list has been received by him from the Superintendent and that such list or copies thereof are open for inspection at all reasonable hours of the day at the office of the Registration Officer and at such other place or places in each electoral division as may be specified in such notice.

(7) Every person whose name appears on the list of which notice has been given by the Registration Officer under the provisions of subsection (6) of this section may make a written application for the restoration of his name to the register of electors.

(8) If any applicant referred to under the provisions of subsection (7) of this section satisfies the Registration Officer that he has a good and sufficient reason for not having recorded his vote his name shall be restored to the register of electors without penalty. Where such applicant does not so satisfy the Registration Officer his name shall be restored to the register of electors on payment to the Registration Officer of the sum of five dollars. Such names shall be restored to the register of electors at the next ensuing revision of such register.

Identification by voters

22.—(1) The presiding officer at any polling station may in his discretion require any voter, before he is given a ballot paper, to furnish such evidence of his identity as the presiding officer may deem necessary.

(2) If any person fails to furnish such evidence of his identity or if the presiding officer is not satisfied with any evidence furnished the presiding officer may refuse to give him a ballot paper.

Spoilt ballot papers

23. A voter who has inadvertently dealt with his ballot paper in such manner that it cannot be conveniently used as a ballot paper may, on delivering to the presiding officer the ballot paper so inadvertently dealt with, and on proving the fact of the inadvertence to the satisfaction of the presiding officer, obtain another ballot paper in place of the ballot paper so delivered up, hereinafter in this Ordinance referred to as a “spoilt ballot paper”, and the spoilt ballot paper shall be immediately cancelled by the presiding officer.

Tendered voters

24. If a person, representing himself to be a particular elector named in the register of electors, applies for a ballot paper after another person has voted as such elector, the applicant shall be entitled to receive a ballot paper and to vote in the same manner as any other voter, but the ballot paper, hereinafter in this Ordinance referred to as a “tendered ballot paper”, shall be of a colour different from the other ballot papers, and, before being placed in a ballot box, shall be endorsed by the presiding officer with the name of the voter and his number in the register.

Closing of voting

25. No ballot paper shall be delivered to a voter after the hour fixed for the closing of the voting. But if at the hour aforesaid there is in the polling station any voter to whom a ballot paper has been delivered, such voter shall be allowed to record his vote.

Extract from:

https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Bills-Supp/156-1961/Published/19611215?DocDate=19611215

Yang di-Pertuan Negara is a Lord of the State, a title for the head of state in certain Malay speaking countries and has been used as an official title at various times in Brunei and Singapore.

Yang di-Pertuan Negara (bermaksud "yang menjadi pemerintah negeri") ialah gelaran rasmi bagi ketua negara di beberapa wilayah Melayu. Di Singapura, ia menggantikan jawatan Gabenor (1959–1965) sebelum menjadi Presiden, dengan Yusof Ishak sebagai pemegang jawatan pertama. Ia juga digunakan di Sabah (1963–1976) sebelum digantikan oleh Yang di-Pertua Negeri.

Berikut adalah butiran lanjut mengenai gelaran tersebut:

Singapura (1959–1965): Jawatan ini dicipta apabila Singapura mendapat pemerintahan sendiri. Sir William Goode berkhidmat sebagai yang pertama (Jun-Disember 1959), diikuti oleh Yusof Ishak.

Peranan: Pemegang jawatan ini mewakili ketua negara, melantik pegawai kerajaan, dan memberikan pengampunan.

Perubahan Gelaran: Setelah Singapura merdeka dan menjadi republik pada 9 Ogos 1965, gelaran ini ditukar kepada Presiden.

Sabah & Brunei: Di Sabah, gelaran ini digunakan selepas menyertai Malaysia sebelum ditukar kepada Yang di-Pertua Negeri. Di Brunei, ia merujuk kepada Sultan sebagai ketua negara.