Saturday, 26 February 2011

After the boundaries are drawn, what's next?


So what's next after the electoral boundaries are drawn?

It is COUNTDOWN to POLLING DAY!

Sequence of events that will happen:

1) Dissolution of Parliament
A dissolution puts an end to a particular Parliament, is the dispersal of a legislature at the call of en election. MPs also cease to hold office once it is dissolved.

2) Nomination Day
Candidates are required to present their nomination papers and certificates to the Returning Officer, in duplicate and in person, at the nomination centre between 11 am and 12 noon, accompanied by their proposers, seconders and at least 4 assentors.

Nomination Day must come between five days and a month after the President has issued writ. The minimum period between Nomination and Polling Day, typically nine days, has been extended to 10 days to make up for the Cooling-Off Day.

3) Campaigning starts!
Candidates can start campaigning after the notice of contested election is issued, up to the start of the day before Polling Day (which is the Cooling-Off Day). Candidates may also be given air-time by the television stations.

4) Cooling off Day
The eve of Polling Day is designated as Cooling-off Day, a day when election campaigning is prohibited.

5) Polling Day
Polling Day must be held not earlier than the 10th day and not later than the 56th day immediately following the Notice of Contested Elections is published after Nomination Day.

Voters, whose names are found in the current register of electors of a contested constituency, will receive a poll card which will be mailed to their latest NRIC address well before Polling Day.

On Polling Day, voters can go to their assigned polling stations to cast their votes any time between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm. After the close of the polls, the ballot boxes containing the votes cast will be sealed and transported to the respective counting centres.

Hope the above helps especially for first time voters :)

1 comment:

xizor2000 said...

Oh.. you forgot to mention, on polling day itself - nothing containing party symbols are supposed to be within a certain distance of the polling station... so enthusiastic first-time voters don't start showing up with flags and banners. :P

Then again, I forgot whether there's a fine if that rule is violated. :P

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