Below is a letter sent to the Election Department on Tuesday evening.
Dear Sir,
I quote TheOnlineCitizen (TOC) from their article available on this link https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2015/09/are-the-paps-mini-posters-in-nee-soon-grc-allowed/
“The display of posters and banners advertising for a candidate or group of candidates during the campaign period must comply with the conditions listed in the Returning Officer’s permit for such display of posters and banners.
At the end of nomination proceedings, the Returning Officer will issue to the candidate or his election agent a permit authorising the display of posters and banners in public places within the constituency where the candidate is contesting in. The permit will specify the maximum number of posters and banners allowed to be displayed in public places within the constituency (other than election rally sites) and may contain certain conditions restricting the place at and the manner in which the posters and banners may be displayed.
No person shall display or cause to be displayed in any public place election posters and banners without authorisation by the Returning Officer.
Posters and banners must be removed after polling day and that the failure to do so is an offence. Candidates or their election agents have to ensure that all of their posters and banners are taken down within the specified period stated in the Returning Officer permit and properly disposed of after the elections.”
In addition posters and banners displayed must bear the official seal/stamp provided by ELD to candidates and or their election agents.
In this link you can view the video I took in September 2015 during the campaign period.
Please, kindly advice is such behaviour of displaying posters in shopfronts considered a breach of election rules? And if allowed shouldn’t they also bear the official stamp affixed on the posters?
Lastly is this a chargeable offence? Please advise, I would like to lodge a police report if this is considered a breach of election rules.
I have an HD version of the video and some more pictures that I have taken post-election that I would be more than happy to share with the department to aid your investigation.
Best Regards,
John (not his real name)
To answer on behalf of ELD, the regulations for display of posters and banners are as follow
78.—(1) The Minister may make regulations to regulate the display of posters and banners in respect of an election.
(2) Such regulations may provide for the Returning Officer to determine the number and size of posters and banners which may be displayed in any electoral division and for the determination of the places at which they may be so displayed.
(3) For the purposes of this section and any regulations made thereunder —
“banner” includes a flag, bunting, ensign or standard;
“poster” includes any label, set of colours, drawing, painting, advertisement, handbill or placard or any replica of a voting paper or of the symbol of any political party.
(4) Any person who commits an offence under such regulations shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months.
(5) Every offence under such regulations shall be an arrestable offence within the meaning of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 (Act 15 of 2010).
When TOC published the article on the posters found at Nee Soon GRC, we wrote to ELD for a response. Till today there has been no reply nor action seen taken on the matter.
