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Electoral Act 1993

Election petitions - Trial of election petition

244: Report of court as to corrupt or illegal practices

You could also call this:

"What happens when the court checks for cheating in elections"

Illustration for Electoral Act 1993

If you are involved in an election petition, the court will look at any claims of corrupt or illegal practices. You will want to know what the court does with these claims. The court reports to the Speaker about what happened. The court says if a candidate or someone who helped them did something wrong on purpose. They also say if many people did corrupt things during the election.

When the court looks at someone who is not a candidate, they give that person a chance to defend themselves. The court tells them they are being looked at and lets them say why they should not be in trouble. If the court finds out a candidate knew about corrupt practices, they treat the candidate as if they did it themselves.

If a candidate's helpers did something wrong, but the candidate did not know, the court might not blame the candidate. This happens if the candidate tried to stop corrupt practices and the wrong things that happened were not very important. The court also looks at if the rest of the election was fair and if the candidate and helpers did not do anything else wrong.

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Government and voting > Elections
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Part 8Election petitions
Trial of election petition

244Report of court as to corrupt or illegal practices

  1. Where, in an election petition to which section 229(3) applies, any charge is made of any corrupt or illegal practice having been committed at the election, the court shall, in addition to giving a certificate and at the same time, report in writing to the Speaker as follows:

  2. whether any corrupt or illegal practice has or has not been proved to have been committed by or with the knowledge and consent of any constituency candidate at the election, and the nature of the corrupt or illegal practice:
    1. whether any of the constituency candidates has been guilty by his or her agents of any corrupt or illegal practice in reference to the election:
      1. the names of all persons proved at the trial to have been guilty of any corrupt or illegal practice and whether they have received certificates of indemnity:
        1. whether there is reason to believe that corrupt or illegal practices have extensively prevailed at the election.

          1. In the case of someone who is not a party to the petition nor a constituency candidate on behalf of whom the seat is claimed by the petition, the court, before reporting him or her to have been proved guilty of any corrupt or illegal practice, shall first cause notice to be given to him or her, and if he or she appears in pursuance of the notice, shall give him or her an opportunity of being heard and of calling evidence in his or her defence to show why he or she should not be so reported.

          2. For the purposes of this Act, if it is reported by the court that a corrupt or illegal practice was committed with the knowledge and consent of a constituency candidate, he or she shall be treated as having been reported to have been proved guilty of that corrupt or illegal practice.

          3. If a constituency candidate is reported to have been guilty by his or her agents of treating, undue influence, or any illegal practice, and the court further reports—

          4. that no corrupt or illegal practice was committed at the election by the constituency candidate with his or her knowledge or consent, and that the offences mentioned in the report were committed without the sanction or connivance of the constituency candidate; and
            1. that all reasonable means for preventing the commission of corrupt and illegal practices at the election were taken by and on behalf of the constituency candidate; and
              1. that the offences mentioned in the report were of a trivial, unimportant, and limited character; and
                1. that in all other respects the election was free from any corrupt or illegal practice on the part of the constituency candidate and of his or her agents,—
                    1. the constituency candidate shall not be treated for the purposes of this Act as having been reported to have been proved guilty of the offences mentioned in the report.