Western Australian Consolidated Regulations

VETERINARY SURGEONS REGULATIONS 1979 - REG 6

6 .         Conduct of elections

                In respect of an election held pursuant to regulation 4 — 

            (a)         a nomination shall be in an approved form, but has no effect unless it — 

                  (i)         nominates only one natural person as a candidate and contains the full name of that person; and

                  (ii)         is signed by 2 registered veterinary surgeons who are natural persons; and

                  (iii)         is signed by the candidate and indicates his consent to act if elected; and

                  (iv)         is addressed to the returning officer at Perth, and is delivered or forwarded to him so as to reach him prior to the hour of noon on the day fixed for the close of nominations;

                and

            (b)         if the number of candidates duly nominated does not exceed the number of persons required to be elected, those candidates shall be deemed to be duly elected, but if the number of candidates duly nominated exceeds the number of persons required to be elected, the returning officer shall by letter notify each registered veterinary surgeon who is a natural person of the names of those candidates and enclose in such letter a ballot paper in an approved form; and

            (c)         every ballot paper shall — 

                  (i)         contain the full names of the candidates arranged in alphabetical order of their surnames; and

                  (ii)         specify the day of the election and the time of the closing thereof after which the returning officer shall not accept ballot papers; and

                  (iii)         bear the initials of the returning officer; and

                  (iv)         include or be accompanied by an explanation to the voter of how to make a valid vote;

                and

            (d)         a person to whom a ballot paper is forwarded shall, if desirous of voting, record his vote on the ballot paper by marking in the square opposite the name or names of the candidate or candidates for whom he votes a cross or crosses to the number of candidates required to be elected; and

            (e)         a voter having marked his ballot paper in accordance with paragraph (d) shall post or deliver the ballot paper to the returning officer so as to be received by him not later than the day and time specified on the ballot paper for the closing of the election; and

            (f)         the returning officer shall reject any ballot paper not marked in the manner required by paragraph (d) or not received by him at or prior to the day and time specified therein for the closing of the election, but a ballot paper shall not be rejected merely because of an informality or alleged informality in the manner in which it has been dealt with by the voter if the ballot paper is regular in other respects and in the opinion of the returning officer clearly indicates the intention of the voter in voting; and

            (g)         the result of an election shall be determined by scrutiny of the ballot papers and count of the votes; and

            (h)         each candidate may, by notice in writing delivered to the returning officer not less than 5 days prior to the day fixed for the election, appoint one scrutineer to be present when the returning officer shall open the envelopes containing the ballot papers and commence to count the votes; and

                  (i)         the candidate or candidates, according to the number of persons required to be elected at the election, who obtain the greatest number of votes, shall be declared by the returning officer to be elected; and

            (j)         in the event of 2 or more candidates receiving an equal number of votes, the returning officer, in the presence of the scrutineers (if any), shall draw lots to decide which of such candidates shall be deemed to have been duly elected, and shall thereupon declare that candidate, or those candidates who were successful on lots being drawn as aforesaid, to be elected; and

            (k)         after the declaration of the result of the election the returning officer shall forthwith in writing notify the Minister of the name of the candidate or, as the case may be, the names of the candidates, successful at the election; and

            (l)         the returning officer shall retain for a period of 6 months after the holding of an election all the ballot papers used at that election, and after the expiration of that period shall at a convenient time and in the presence of a member of the Board destroy by burning all such ballot papers.

        [Regulation 6 amended in Gazette 21 Sep 1984 p. 3111; 20 Mar 2007 p. 1010.]