(1) The local authority shall appoint a returning officer for the purpose of conducting the election of members representing the street vendors of the area under its jurisdiction.
(2) The returning officer shall conduct the election.
(3) A street vendor shall be disqualified to be elected as member of the Town Vending Committee if he is convicted of an offence involving moral turpitude or he is physically or mentally incapable of discharging duties as a member of a Town Vending Committee or is an insolvent.
(4) The local authority shall supervise, direct and control the conduct of elections of the members of Town Vending Committee.
(5) The local authority shall by a resolution determine the date, time and place for conduct of the election.
(6) The notice of the election shall be published in two prominent daily newspapers out of which one shall be in the local language of the area and one copy of the same shall be delivered to the returning officer. The notice shall contain the following information:— OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 28 (EXTRAORDINARY) 19TH OCTOBER, 2016 1073
(i) the number of members to be elected including seats reserved for representation of Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes, Other Backward Classes, women, persons with disabilities, minorities or any other specified categories;
(ii) the date on which, the place at which and the hours between which nomination papers shall be filed, such date being not less than seven clear days before the date fixed for election or if that day happens to be public holiday, the next succeeding day which is not a public holiday;
(iii) the date and the hour for scrutinisation of the nomination papers; and
(iv) the date, place and the hours of the polling.
(7) The local authority shall prepare a list of street vendors engaged in the vocation of street vending in the area of jurisdiction of the Town Vending Committee as it stood thirty days before the date fixed for inviting the nominations and publish copies of the said list by affixing them upon the notice board at the office of the Town Vending Committee, not less than ten days prior to the date fixed for inviting nominations. The list shall specify the registration number, certificate of vending and the name of the street vendor, the name of the father or husband, as the case may be, and the address of the street vendor. It shall be the duty of the Town Vending Committee or the local authority, as the case may be, to bring up-to-date register of street vendors and such other register as the returning officer may require and hand over such records or register to the returning officer thirty days prior to the date fixed for the purpose of the election. A copy of the list shall be supplied by the Town Vending Committee or the local authority or returning officer, as the case may be, to any street vendor on payment of such fee as specified by the local authority.
(8) The nominations of the candidates for election shall be made in Form-I which shall be supplied by the returning officer to any street vendor free of cost.
(9) The candidate shall make a security deposit of rupees two thousand in cash or by bank draft or by pay order along with the nomination papers. If a candidate fails to get less than one sixth of the votes polled, the security deposit shall be forfeited to the local authority.
(10) Every nomination paper shall be presented in person by the candidate himself or by his proposer or seconder to the returning officer. The returning officer shall enter on the nomination paper its serial number and certify the date and hour at which the nomination is received by him and shall immediately give a written acknowledgement for the receipt of the nomination paper which shall bear the seal of the returning officer. Any nomination paper which is not received on or before the date and time fixed for its receipt shall be rejected.
(11) On the day following the date fixed for the receipt of nomination papers, the returning officer shall take up the scrutiny of the nomination papers.
(12) The returning officer shall examine the nomination papers and decide objections, which may be made by any person in respect of any nomination and may, either on such objection or on his own motion and after such summary inquiry, if any, as the returning officer thinks necessary, reject any nomination:
Provided that the nomination of a candidate shall not be rejected merely on the ground of an incorrect description of his name or the name of his proposer or seconder, or any other particulars relating to the candidate or his proposer or seconder, as entered in the list of street vendors referred to in sub-rule (7) if the identity of the candidate, the proposer or seconder, as the case may be, is established beyond reasonable doubt.
(13) The returning officer shall give all reasonable facilities to the contesting candidates or the proposer or seconder, as the OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 28 (EXTRAORDINARY) 19TH OCTOBER, 2016 1074 case may be, to examine all the nomination papers and to satisfy themselves that the inclusion of the name of the contesting candidate is valid.
(14) The returning officer shall endorse on each nomination paper his decision accepting or rejecting the same and if the nomination paper is rejected he shall record in writing a brief statement of his reasons for such rejection.
(15) The returning officer shall not allow any adjournment of the proceedings except when such proceedings are interrupted or obstructed by riots or affray or by causes beyond his control.
(16) The list of valid nominations as decided by the retuning officer with names in English alphabetical order and addresses of the candidates as given in the nomination papers shall be displayed on the same day on which the scrutiny of the nomination papers is completed.
(17) Any candidate may withdraw his candidature by notice in writing signed by him and submitted in person, at any time after the presentation of his nomination paper but before
05.00 pm on the day following the day on which the valid nominations are published, to the returning officer. A notice of withdrawal of candidature once given shall be irrevocable.
(18) Where the number of candidates whose nomination papers have been declared valid, does not exceed, the number of candidates to be elected, the returning officer shall announce the names of all such candidates and declare them to have been duly elected to the Town Vending Committee after the closing hour of the day of withdrawal of candidatures fixed under sub-rule (17) above. Where the number of candidates whose nominations are valid exceeds the number to be elected, the returning officer shall arrange for conducting a poll on the date fixed for the purpose. The returning officer may appoint one or more polling officers as may be necessary for conducting the poll. The ballot paper to be used for the election shall be in Form-II hereto.
(19) The local authority shall provide, the returning officer with ballot boxes, ballot papers, copy of list of street vendors or voters and such other articles as may be necessary for the conduct of elections. The ballot box shall be designed in such a way that ballot papers can be inserted therein but cannot be taken out therefrom without the boxes being unlocked. A candidate contesting the election may, by a letter to the returning officer, appoint an agent to represent him for both the places where polling is held to identify the voters and to watch the recording of votes. The letter shall also contain the consent in writing of the agent concerned. Such letter shall be in Form-III hereto.
(20) The canvassing for votes by any person at the place where election is to be conducted shall be prohibited.
(21) Immediately before the commencement of the poll, the returning officer shall show the empty ballot box to such persons as may be present at the time and shall then lock it up and fix his seal. The candidate or his agent may also affix his own seal, if he so desires.
(22) Every street vendor or voter who desires to exercise his right to vote shall be supplied with a ballot paper containing the names of contesting candidates arranged in the English alphabetical order either printed, type written or cyclostyled, according to convenience, on the ballot paper. The ballot paper shall also bear the seal of the Town Vending Committee/local authority and also the initials of the returning officer, and further contain a column, for the voter to inscribe a mark [x] against the names of persons to whom he wants to vote.
(23) Each polling station and where there is more than one polling booth at a station, each such booth shall contain a separate compartment in which the street vendor or voters can record their votes in secrecy.
(24) No ballot paper shall be issued to a street vendor or voter unless the polling officer is satisfied that the street vendor or voter OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 28 (EXTRAORDINARY) 19TH OCTOBER, 2016 1075 concerned is the same person as noted in the list furnished to him. On receipt of such ballot paper the street vendor or voter shall proceed to the polling compartment set apart for the purpose and indicate the person or persons in whose favour he exercises his vote by inscribing a mark (x) against the names of the candidate or candidates, as the case may be, and drop the ballot paper in the ballot box kept for the purpose with utmost secrecy. If owing to blindness or other physical infirmity or illiteracy, the street vendor or voter is unable to inscribe the mark on the ballot paper, the polling officer and where no such polling officer is appointed, the returning officer shall ascertain from him the candidate or candidates in whose favour he desired to vote, inscribe the mark (x) on his behalf and drop the ballot paper in the ballot box.
(25) If at any stage of the polling, the proceedings are interrupted or obstructed by any riot or affray or if at such elections, it is not possible to take the poll for any sufficient cause, the returning officer may stop the polling, recording his reasons for such action in the minute book of the Town Vending Committee/local authority.
(26) No street vendor or voter shall be admitted after the hours fixed for the poll but a voter who enters the premises where ballot papers are being issued before the close of the polling hour shall be issued the ballot paper and allowed him to vote.
(27) The counting of votes shall take place immediately after closure of the poll. If this is not possible, the ballot box shall be sealed with the seal of the returning officer and the contesting candidates or their agents, if they so desire, and deposit such ballot box, with the local authority for custody. The returning officer shall then announce the next day for counting. The votes shall be counted by or under the supervision of the returning officer.
Each candidate and his authorized agent shall have a right to be present at the time of counting. But absence of any candidate or his agent at the time of counting shall not vitiate the counting and the announcement of results by the returning officer. The number of votes secured by each candidate and the result of the election shall be announced by the returning officer as soon as the counting is over.
(28) The result of the elections shall also be recorded in the minute book of the Town Vending Committee/local authority and attested by the returning officer and shall also be put immediately on the notice board of the Town Vending Committee.
(29) In case of equal number of votes, the returning officer shall declare the election result by tossing coin.
(30) The ballot paper shall be rejected by the returning officer if,—
(i) it bears any mark by which the street vendor’s vote can be identified,
(ii) it does not bear the seal of the Town Vending Committee/local authority or the initials of the returning officer,
(iii) the mark indicating the vote thereon is placed in such a manner as to make it doubtful to which candidate the vote has been cast, and
(iv) is so damaged or mutilated that its identity as a genuine ballot paper cannot be established.
(31) After the result of election has been announced, the result of the election and a report thereon shall be communicated to the local authority as well as to the Government by the returning officer, within three days from the date of declaration of the result.
(32) After the declaration of the result of the election, the returning officer shall handover the ballot paper and records relating to the elections of the members of the Town Vending Committee to the local authority in a sealed cover. These shall safely be preserved by the local authority for a period of six months from OFFICIAL GAZETTE — GOVT. OF GOA SERIES I No. 28 (EXTRAORDINARY) 19TH OCTOBER, 2016 1076 the date of elections or till such time a dispute regarding elections, if any, filed is disposed of, whichever is later and shall thereafter be destroyed by the local authority. A copy of the handing over and taking over record of election shall be sent to the Government as well as to the local authority by the returning officer along with his report.