Presidential Elections Act, 1993

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PART IV

The Counting of the Votes

Interpretation (Part IV).

45.—In this Part—

“continuing candidate” means any candidate not deemed to be elected and not excluded;

“count” means—

(a) all the operations involved in the counting of the first preferences recorded for candidates, or

(b) all the operations involved in the transfer of the votes of an excluded candidate, or

(c) all the operations involved in the transfer of the votes of 2 or more candidates excluded together in accordance with section 51 (2);

“deemed to be elected” means deemed to be elected for the purpose of the counting of the votes but without prejudice to the declaration of the result of the poll;

“non-transferable paper” means a ballot paper on which no second or subsequent preference is recorded for a continuing candidate, provided that a paper shall be deemed to have become a non-transferable paper whenever—

(a) the names of 2 or more candidates (whether continuing candidates or not) are marked with marks which, in the opinion of the local returning officer, indicate the same order of preference and are next in order of preference, or

(b) the name of the candidate next in order of preference (whether a continuing candidate or not) is marked with a mark which, in the opinion of the local returning officer, does not follow consecutively after some other mark on the ballot paper, or with 2 or more marks indicating different orders of preference, or

(c) it is void for uncertainty;

“original vote”, in relation to a candidate, means a vote derived from a ballot paper on which a first preference is recorded for the candidate;

“preference” shall be interpreted as follows—

(a) “first preference” means any mark which, in the opinion of the local returning officer, clearly indicates a first preference,

“second preference” means any mark which, in the opinion of the local returning officer, clearly indicates a second preference standing in succession to a first preference,

“third preference” means any mark which, in the opinion of the local returning officer, clearly indicates a third preference standing in succession to a second preference, and so on,

(b) “next available preference” means a preference which, in the opinion of the local returning officer, is a second or subsequent preference recorded in consecutive order for a continuing candidate, the preferences next in order on the ballot paper for excluded candidates being disregarded;

“transferable paper” means a ballot paper on which, following a first preference, a second or subsequent preference is recorded in consecutive numerical order for a continuing candidate;

“transferred vote”, in relation to a candidate, means a vote derived from a ballot paper on which a second or subsequent preference is recorded for that candidate.