CEYLON (PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS) Order In Council, 1946.
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1946/5011 |
1946 Unnumbered
CEYLON
5. Parliamentary Elections
THE CEYLON (PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS) ORDER IN COUNCIL, 1946.PRESENT,
The King's Most Excellent Majesty in Council.
Whereas by the Ceylon (Constitution) Order in Council, 1946(a), provision was made for the constitution and powers of a Senate and a House of Representatives for Ceylon:
And whereas it is expedient to make provision for the election of Members to serve in the said House of Representatives:
And whereas His Majesty has power, by and with the advice of His Privy Council, to make laws for the Island of Ceylon:
Now therefore, it is hereby ordered by His Majesty, by and with the advice of His Privy Council, as follows:—
(a) See p. 560 above.
PART I.
PRELIMINARY.
Short Title and application.
1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Ceylon (Parliamentary Elections) Order in Council, 1946, and shall apply to the election of Members to serve in the House of Representatives to be constituted by the Ceylon (Constitution) Order in Council, 1946.
(2) Nothing in this Order shall extend to the Maldive Islands.
Date of operation.
2. This Order shall be published in the Government Gazette and shall come into operation on the date of such publication(a).
Interpretation.
3.—(1) In this Order, unless the context otherwise requires—
"British subject" means any person who is a British subject according to the law for the time being of the United Kingdom, any person who has been naturalised under any enactment of any of His Majesty's dominions, and any person who is a citizen or subject of any of the Indian States as defined for the purposes of the Government of India Act, 1935;
26 Geo. 5 & 1 Edw. 8. c. 2.
"candidate" means a person who is nominated as a candidate at an election or is declared by himself to be or acts as a candidate for election to any seat in the House of Representatives;
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Parliamentary Elections appointed under Section 88 of this Order;
"election" means an election for the purpose of electing a Member of the House of Representatives;
"elector" means a person who, pursuant to this Order, is entitled to be registered as an elector to vote at an election;
"electoral district" means an electoral district specified in the Proclamation for the time being in force under Section 43 of the Ceylon (Constitution) Order in Council, 1946;
"general election" means the first general election of Members of the House of Representatives or a general election of Members after a dissolution of Parliament;
"House of Representatives" means the House of Representatives constituted by the Ceylon (Constitution) Order in Council, 1946;
"Island" means the Island of Ceylon and the dependencies thereof;
"Member" or "Member of Parliament" means a Member of the House of Representatives;
"Parliament" means the Parliament of the Island;
"Proclamation" means a Proclamation by the Governor published in the Government Gazette;
"register" or "register of electors" means the register of electors for any particular electoral district;
(a) The date thus fixed was September 26, 1946.
"Secretary of State" means one of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State;
"Senator" means a member of the Senate;
"State Council" means the State Council constituted by the Ceylon (State Council) Order in Council, 1931(a);
"United Kingdom" means the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland;
"voter" means a person who, whether his name does or does not appear in a register of electors, applies to vote, or votes, at an election.
(2) Any reference in this Order to an Order in Council shall be construed as a reference to that Order as amended or modified by any subsequent Order.
Cap. 2.
(3) In the interpretation of this Order, the provisions of the Interpretation Ordinance, other than the definition of "the Government", shall subject to the express provisions of this Order, and notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in that Ordinance, apply as it applies for the interpretation of an Ordinance of the State Council.
PART II.
QUALIFICATIONS OF ELECTORS.
Circumstances disqualifying for registration.
4.—(1) No person shall be qualified to have his name entered or retained in any register of electors in any year if such person—
(a) is not a British subject, or is by virtue of his own act, under any acknowledgment of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign Power or State; or
(b) was less than twenty-one years of age on the first day of June in that year; or
(c) has not, for a continuous period of six months in the eighteen months immediately prior to the first day of June in that year, resided in the electoral district to which the register relates; or
(d) is serving a sentence of imprisonment (by whatever name called) imposed by any court in any part of His Majesty's dominions or in any territory under His Majesty's protection or in any territory in which His Majesty has from time to time jurisdiction, for an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term exceeding twelve months, or is under sentence of death imposed by any such court, or is serving a sentence of imprisonment awarded in lieu of execution of any such sentence; or
(e) is, under any law in force in the Island, found or declared to be of unsound mind; or
(f) is incapable of being registered as an elector by reason of his conviction of a corrupt or illegal practice or by reason of the report of an election judge in accordance with this Order, or by reason of his conviction of an offence under Section 52 of this Order; or
(a) S.R. & O. 1931, p. 1448.
(g) would have been incapable of being registered as a voter by reason of his conviction of a corrupt or illegal practice if the Ceylon (State Council Elections) Order in Council, 1931, had remained in force.
(2) For the purposes of this Section, continuity of residence in an electoral district shall not be deemed to be interrupted by reason only of absence in the performance of any duty accruing from or incidental to any office, service or employment held or undertaken by any person otherwise qualified to have his name entered on any register.
General qualification of elector.
5. Any person not otherwise disqualified shall be qualified to have his name entered in a register of electors if he is domiciled in the Island or if he is qualified in accordance with Section 6 or Section 7 of this Order:
Domicile.
Provided that, except in the case of persons possessing Ceylon domicile of origin, domicile shall not be deemed to have been acquired for the purpose of qualifying for registration as an elector by any person who has not resided in the Island for a total period of or exceeding five years.
Special qualification by literacy and property.
6.—(1) Any person not otherwise disqualified shall be qualified to have his name entered in a register of electors in any year if—
(a) he is able to read and write English, Sinhalese or Tamil, and
(b) he has or holds one of the following qualifications, namely—
(i) the possession or enjoyment of a clear annual income of not less than Rs.600 during a continuous period of six months immediately prior to the first day of June in that year;
(ii) the ownership of immovable property, otherwise than as lessee or usufructuary mortgagee, situate within the electoral district to which the register relates, during a continuous period of six months immediately prior to the first day of June in that year, the value of which, after allowing for any mortgage debts thereon, is not less than Rs. 1,500;
(iii) the occupation, as owner or tenant, during a continuous period of six months immediately prior to the first day of June in that year, of any house, warehouse, counting house, shop or other building (hereinafter referred to as qualifying property), situate within the electoral district to which the register relates, of the annual value of not less than Rs.200, if situated within the administrative limits of any Village Committee, or Rs.400, if situated elsewhere:
Provided that the qualifying property need not be throughout the period of qualification the same property, if the annual value is in no case less than Rs.200 or Rs.400 as the case may be, and if such property is in all cases situate within such electoral district as aforesaid.
(2) Where an occupier is entitled to the sole and exclusive use of any part of a building, that part shall not be deemed to be occupied otherwise than separately by reason only that the occupier is entitled to the joint use of some other part.
(3) In the case of qualifying property possessed or occupied jointly by two or more persons, each such person, not being a usufructuary mortgagee, shall be qualified to have his name entered in a register of electors, provided that the number of persons does not exceed the number obtained by dividing the annual value of such property, expressed in rupees, by two hundred if it is situated within the administrative limits of any Village Committee and by four hundred if situated elsewhere.
(4) For the purposes of this Section—
(a) the terms "house, warehouse, counting house, shop or other building" include any part of a building when that part is separately occupied for the purposes of any trade, business or profession; and any such part may, for the purposes of describing the qualification, be described as office, chambers, studio, or by any like term applicable to the case;
(b) continuity of the occupation of a house shall not be deemed to be interrupted by reason only of permission being given for the occupation of the house as a furnished house by some other person on a monthly tenancy or on a tenancy at will, or on a lease for a period not exceeding five months in the whole, or by reason only of notice to quit being served and possession being demanded by the landlord of the house.
Special qualification by certificate of permanent settlement.
7.—(1) Any person not otherwise disqualified shall be qualified to have his name...
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