REGISTRATION OF ELECTORS act
Arrangement of Sections
1. Short title.
PART I
QUALIFICATIONS OF ELECTORS
2. Circumstances disqualifying for registration.
3. Qualifying date for determining age.
4. Qualifying date for determining residence.
5. General qualification for electors.
6. Entry or retention of names in register under qualifying address.
7. Restriction on plural registration.
PART II
REGISTERING OFFICERS, POLLING DIVISIONS AND POLLING DISTRICTS
8. Appointment of Registering Officers.
9. Polling divisions and polling districts.
PART III
PREPARATION OF REGISTERS
10. Preparation of register.
11. Notice of certification of register to be given.
PART IV
REVISION OF REGISTERS
12. Revision of registers.
13. Method of Revising Register.
14. Claims and objections at revision of register.
15. Appeals to revising officer.
16. Penalty for false statements and wrongful claims.
17. Registering Officer to substitute correct qualifying address for incorrect qualifying address.
17A. Supplementary Register.
18. Registering Officer to certify the register.
19. Notices by Registering and Revising Officers and adjournments.
20. Notice of certification of register and commencement and period of operation.
20A. Different qualifying dates and supplementary lists.
PART V
GENERAL
21. Compilation and language of register.
22. Entering of name deleted from register.
23. Registering Officer to furnish Commissioner with certain particulars.
24. Powers and duties of the Commissioner.
24A. Power of the Election Commission to issue directions.
25. Inaccurate description of persons or places.
26. Publication of notices, registers and other documents.
27. Repeals and transitional provisions.
28. Savings.
29. Interpretation.
SCHEDULE
44 of 1980,
10 of 1989,
22 of 2021.
AN ACT to provide for the registration of electors in terms of Article 101 of the Constitution and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
[Date of Commencement: 23rd January, 1981]
1. Short title.
This Act may be cited as the Registration of Electors Act.
PART I
QUALIFICATIONS OF ELECTORS
2. Circumstances disqualifying for registration.
No person shall be qualified to have his name entered or retained in any register of electors for any electoral district (hereinafter referred to as the “register”) in any year if such person is subject to any of the disqualifications specified in Article 89 of the Constitution.
3. Qualifying date for determining age.
The first day of February in any year is hereby prescribed as the qualifying date on which a person should have attained the age of eighteen years to qualify for the purposes of registration as an elector.
[S 3 am by s 2 of Act 22 of 2021.]
4. Qualifying date for determining residence.
(1) The first day of February in any year is hereby prescribed as the qualifying date on which a person should be resident in any electoral district to have his name entered or retained in the register of that electoral district.
[S 4(1) am by s 3(a) of Act 22 of 2021.]
(2) The address at which a person was ordinarily resident in any electoral district on the first day of February in any year is hereinafter referred to as his “qualifying address”.
[S 4(2) am by s 3(b) of Act 22 of 2021.]
(3) In the determination of any question as to a person’s residence on the first day of February in any year, particular regard shall be had to the purpose and other circumstances, as well as to the fact, of his presence at, or absence from, the address in question, and in particular his absence from such address in the performance of any duty accruing from or incidental to any office, service or employment, held or undertaken by him.
[S 4(3) am by s 3(c) of Act 22 of 2021.]
5. General qualification for electors.
Subject to the provisions of section 6, every person not otherwise disqualified shall be qualified to have his name entered or retained in a register.
6. Entry or retention of names in register under qualifying address.
The name of a person shall be entered or retained in the register for any electoral district in any year under his qualifying address, and accordingly such person shall not be entitled to have his name so entered or retained under any other address:
Provided, however, that the registration of such person as an elector shall be deemed or construed not to be invalid or of no effect by reason only of the failure to comply with the preceding provisions of this section in respect of the entry or retention of his name in such register.
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