6.—(1) Subject to this Act, a poll and voting in an election involving electors subject to COVID‑19 stay orders must be conducted, so far as is practicable, in the same manner as that in which a poll and voting at a polling station in Singapore is conducted under Part III of the Parliamentary Elections Act. (2) The Parliamentary Elections Act applies to a poll and voting at an election involving electors subject to COVID‑19 stay orders at special polling stations, subject to the following modifications:(a) | a reference in section 39(1) of that Act to a polling station allotted to a person is a reference to a special polling station allotted to the elector under section 5(2)(b) or (5)(b); | (b) | despite section 39(3) of that Act, the hours of any poll for any contested election at a special polling station must not be less than 4 hours as set by the Returning Officer, and must close no later than the close of the poll on polling day in Singapore; | (c) | despite section 39(5) of that Act, the maximum number of polling agents who may be admitted to a special polling station is as follows, regardless of the number of polling places within that polling station:(i) | one polling agent for each political party contesting the election or, where the poll is at a general election, the general election; | (ii) | one polling agent for each independent candidate or group of independent candidates (as the case may be) contesting the election or, where the poll is at a general election, the general election; |
| (d) | in addition to section 42(2A)(a) and (b) of that Act, the presiding officer, before delivering a ballot paper to a voter in a special polling station where the voter is required to personally put his or her ballot paper into the ballot box, must —(i) | if the voter is wearing a surgical mask or other mask, ascertain the identity of the voter by asking the voter to remove the mask; and | (ii) | call out the electoral division and polling district code for which the voter is registered in the relevant register of electors; |
| (e) | section 43(1) of that Act does not apply to prevent an elector who is entitled to vote at the election and allotted a special polling station under section 5(2)(b) or (5)(b) from voting at the election at that polling station; | (f) | an elector in paragraph (e) who votes at the special polling station allotted to him or her under section 5(2)(b) or (5)(b) must be treated, for the purposes of section 43 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, as having voted at the electoral division for which he or she is registered; | (g) | in addition to section 48A of that Act, the votes cast at all special polling stations must be counted at a place in Singapore that the Returning Officer directs, notice of which must be published in the Gazette at least 2 clear days before the polling day of the election; | (h) | in addition to section 49(4) of that Act, in counting the votes cast at all special polling stations, the Returning Officer or a person authorised by the Returning Officer must, where the circumstances require, also sort the ballot papers according to electoral divisions where the election is contested, before starting to count the votes from the opened ballot boxes from those polling stations. |
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(3) The Minister may make regulations further modifying the application of any provision of the Parliamentary Elections Act to the conduct of the poll at the election and the counting of votes, so as to minimise exposure during a poll at an election of either or both —(a) | the general public; or | (b) | the presiding officers, clerks, interpreters, polling agents or voters within polling stations, |
to individuals who may be carriers of or infected by the COVID‑19, including modifications to allow electors subject to COVID‑19 stay orders to not leave a boarding premises to mark and cast their votes instead of in person at a special polling station. |
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(4) Regulations made under subsection (3) about the application of any provision of the Parliamentary Elections Act must be consistent with the principles laid down in that provision. |
(5) To avoid doubt, the Parliamentary Elections Act, this Act and regulations made under subsection (3) are not limited or affected in any way by the Infectious Diseases Act and any similar Act. |
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