PRIVATE COLLEGES (GOVERNING BODY AND STUDENT. TEACHER COUNCIL) ELECTION RULES, 1970

PRIVATE COLLEGES (GOVERNING BODY AND STUDENT.

TEACHER COUNCIL) ELECTION RULES, 1970

[Gazette of Punjab, Extraordinary, 12th October 1970]

No. SO (Coll) 4/107‑66.‑In pursuance of the provisions contained in section 22 read with sections 4 and 15 of the West Pakistan Private Colleges (Management and Control) Ordinance, 1970 the Governor of the Punjab is pleased to make the following rules:

1. Title.‑These rules may be called the Private Colleges (Governing Body and Student‑Teacher Council) Election Rules, 1970.

2. Definitions.‑(1) Unless the context otherwise require‑

(a) "Election Officer" means a Principal of the Private College or an officer of the Education Department specially appointed in this behalf by the competent authority by a notification in the official Gazette for conducting elections to elect teachers' representative to the Governing Body and to the Student‑Teacher Council and to perform all functions and !duties connected therewith.

(b) "Form" means form appended to these rules.

(c) "Governing Body" means the Governing Body constituted under section 4 of the Ordinance.

(d) "Ordinance" means the West Pakistan Private Colleges (Management and Control) Ordinance, 1970.

(e) "Student‑Teacher Council" means the Council constituted under subsection (L) of section 16 of the Ordinance.

(f ) "Teachers' Association" means the Association constituted under section 15 of the Ordinance.

(2) Other words and phrases used ;n these rules shall have the same meanings as are assigned to them in the Ordinance.

3. Eligibility for contesting election.‑Every member of the Teachers' Association shall be a competent voter and eligible to contest election as a candidate for a seat in the Governing Body:

Provided that the Principal of the College being already a member of the Governing Body, shall not be a candidate in such election.

4. Notification for election of teachers' representative to Governing Body.‑For thepurpose of electing teachers' representative to the Governing Body, the competent authority shall, by a notification published in the official Gazette, call upon the Teachers' Association of the College to elect three representatives from amongst themselves and in relation thereto shall specify‑

(a) a day for filing of candidatures;

(b) a day for scrutiny of candidatures; receipt and disposal of objections, and withdrawal of candidatures; and

(c) a day at least three days after the date specified in clause (b), for taking of the poll, counting of votes and announcement of results.

5. Notice for fixing time and place for filing candidature, scrutiny and taking poll.‑After the publication of notification under clause (a) of rule 4, the Election Officer shall‑

(a) prepare a list of members of Teachers' Association and place a copy thereof on the notice board of the staff‑room of the College.

(b) with reference to the contents of the notification issued under rule 4, circulate a notice among the members of the Teachers' Association and may place a copy thereof on the notice board of the staff‑room of the College, specifying therein the time during which and the place at which,‑

(i) the candidatures shall be received;

(ii) the scrutiny of candidatures, receipt of objections, decision on such objections and withdrawal of candidatures shall take place; and

(iii) the poll shall be taken.

6. Filing of candidature, scrutiny, disposal ,of objections and withdrawal of candidature.‑(1)Any member of the Teachers' Association desirous of contesting election for the membership of Governing Body, may signify his intention by filling in the form as at Appendix I and submitting the same' to the Election Officer on the date and time specified in this behalf.

(2) The Election Officer shall acknowledge the receipt of candidature by issuing a receipt under his signatures to the candidate and shall register the name and other particulars of the candidate in the register as in form Appendix II.

(3) On the day fixed under clause (b) of rule 4 read with sub‑clause (ii) of clause (b) of rule 5, the Election Officer shall dispose of objections, if any, by recording a brief order after summary inquiry, if any and shall enter the substance of such order in the relevant column of the register as in form Appendix II.

(4) A candidate may by a notice in writing addressed to the Election Officer, withdraw his candidature on the day and during the time specified for such withdrawal.

(5) After the scrutiny, withdrawal, rejection or acceptance of candi­dature, the Election Officer shall circulate the list of accepted candidates among the Teachers' Association and shall also place a copy thereof on the notice board of the staff‑room of the College.

7. Death of a candidate.‑If a candidate dies after the acceptance of his candidature and before the start of poll the Election Officer shall terminate the proceedings and after such termination the procedure laid down in rules 4, 5 and 6 shall be followed for fresh election.

8. Election of candidates where no contest.‑(1)After the scrutiny and withdrawal where there are only three candidates in the field, the Election officer shall declare all of them to be elected as teachers' representatives to the Governing Body.

(2) The Election Officer shall forthwith submit a list of such representa­tives alongwith his report to the competent authority which shall notify their names in the official Gazette.

9. Procedure for filling vacancies consequent on death or otherwise.‑(1) If there are only one or two candidates whose candidature has been accepted for the election to the Governing Body, then the Election Officer shall declare such one or two candidates, as the case may be to have been elected to the Governing Body and their names shall be notified as such by the competent authority in the official Gazette.

(2) If one or more teachers' seats in the Governing Body remain vacant or if any one or more of the elected members dies or die during the tenure of his or their membership, then to fill up such vacancy or vacancies as the case may be, the procedure laid down in the proceeding rules shall be followed.

10. Procedure in case of boycott of election.‑Ifno member of the Teachers' Association offers himself as candidate for the election on two successive opportunities afforded to the Teachers' Association by means of a notification published under rules 4 and 5 one or more teachers' seats in the Governing Body remain unfilled, in spite of the opportunity afforded under rule 9, the competent authority shall nominate one or more teachers as the case may be, as teachers' representative to the Governing Body and such teachers shall be deemed to have been duly elected.

11. Submission of candidatures.‑Every candidate shall submit his candidature as in Form Appendix I to the Election Officer personally:

Provided that if for any unavoidable reason he is unable to do so he may authorise any one from amongst the members of the Association to submit candidature on his behalf but in that case also the form in  Appendix I  shall be signed by the candidate himself. ,

12. Secrecy of ballot and time for poll.‑The poll shall be taken by secret ballot during the time specified by the Election Officer under rule 5.

13. Interruption of polls.‑(1) The Election Officer may stop the poll if­ -----

(a) the poll is interrupted or obstructed for reason beyond his control and cannot be resumed during the time fixed for the purpose; and

(b) the ballot box used at the polling station is unlawfully taken out of his custody or is accidentally or intentionally destroyed or lost or damaged            to the extent that the result of poll cannot be ascertained.

    (2) Where the poll is stopped under sub‑rule (1), the Election Officer shall immediately report the circumstances to the competent authority which shall direct the taking of fresh poll on a date to be specified by him    unless the competent authority is satisfied that the result of election is ascertainable from the poll that has already taken place.

(3) During the fresh poll every member of the Teachers' Association shall be entitled to cast his vote and the votes cast during the interrupted poll shall not be counted.

14. Providing of ballot box.‑(1) The Principal of the College shall arrange for and provide ballot box for the poll and it shall be of such material and design as may be approved  or specified by the competent authority.

(2) The ballot papers shall be of such form. and design as may be approved by the competent authority. The ballot papers, shall be supplied by the competent authority in a sealed cover to the Election Officer before the start of poll.

15. Issuing of ballot paper.‑(1) On the date and time fixed for taking poll, if the elector presents himself for casting vote the Election Officer, after satisfying himself as to the identity of the elector, shall issue to him a ballot             paper after affixing his official seal and signature on its reverse and the elector shall be required to put his signature on the back of the counterfoil    of the ballot paper as a token of having received the ballot paper.

(2) The official seal referred to in sub‑rule (1) shall be of such design as may be approved by the competent authority.

16. Manner of casting vote.‑The elector on receiving the ballot paper, shall­-----

(a) forthwith proceed to the place reserved for marking the ballot paper;

(b) put a cross against the name of each candidate in accordance with the number of seats in whose favour he wants to cast his vote, and

(c) after he has so marked it, fold the ballot paper and put it in the ballot box.

17. Spoiling and re‑issue of ballot paper.‑(1) The elector shall not put any mark of any kind, excepting the cross against the name of his candidates, on the ballot paper by which his identity could be established.               

(2) If an elector has inadvertently spoiled his ballot paper which cannot be used as a valid ballot paper, he may be issued another ballot paper subject to his surrendering the spoiled ballot paper and proving the facts of his inadvertence to the satisfaction of the Election Officer.

(3) The Election Officer shall forthwith cancel the ballot paper returned to him under sub‑rule (2), make a note to that effect on the counterfoil and place it in a packet labelled as "Spoiled Ballot Paper".

18. Counting of, votes.‑(1) Immediately after the close of poll, the Election Officer shall in the presence of contesting candidates or their authorised agents from amongst the members of Teachers' Association, as may be present, proceed with the count of votes.

(2) No person, other than Election Officer, the contesting candidates or their authorised agents, if any, shall be present at the count.

19. Scrutiny of cast votes, preparation ofstatements and announcement of results.‑(1) The Election Officer in the presence of the contesting candidates or their authorised agents, if any, shall‑

(a) open the used ballot box and count the entire lot of ballot papers taken out therefrom;

(b) count the votes cast in favour of each contesting candidate after excluding from the count the ballot papers which bear‑

(i) no official stamp and signatures of the Election Officer;

(ii) any writing or mark, other than the cross mark and signatures of the Election Officer or to which a piece of paper or any other object of any kind has been attached;

(iii) any mark from which it is not clear for whom the elector has voted;

(iv) more cross marks against the names of candidates than the number of seats.

(2) The valid ballot papers shall be sealed in a packet which shall contain a certificate as to the number of ballot papers put in it and shall also indicate the nature of its contents.

(3) The ballot papers, excluded from the count, shall be put in a separate packet indicating thereon the total number of ballot papers con­tained therein.

(4) The Election Officer shall immediately after the count prepare a statement of count showing the number of total votes cast, the number of votes excluded from the count the number of spoiled ballot papers and the number of valid votes polled by each contesting candidate.

(5) After taking the count, the Election Officer shall on the basis of valid votes cast in favour of each candidate declare as successful such number of candidates in accordance with the number of specified seats, who have secured the highest number of votes.

(6) In case of equality of votes cast in favour of two or more candidates the Election Officer shall, in order to declare one or more of them to be the successful candidates, take decision by drawing of lots.

(7) The Election Officer shall prepare a separate statement known as "Ballet Paper Count" showing the number of ballot papers entrusted to him, the number of ballot papers taken out of the ballot box, the number of used ballot papers and the number of unused ballot papers.

(8) The Election Officer shall announce the result in the presence of the candidates or their authorised agents and if so requested by any candidate or his authorised agent he shall give him a certified copy of the statement of the count and the ballot paper account.

(9) The Election Officer shall put different categories of ballot papers and statement in different packets and after sealing the same under his signature, he shall obtain the signatures of each candidate or his authorised agent, desiring to do so, on each packet and despatch them to the competent authority.

20. Notification of elected candidates.‑The competent authority shall notify the names of elected candidates in official Gazette.

21. Vacancy in Governing Body due to resignation or otherwise.‑If any representative of Teachers' Association in the Governing Body resigns from membership of the Governing Body and his resignation is accepted by the competent authority, or if he for any reason ceases to be the member of Teachers' Association, his seat in the Governing Body shall be deemed to have fallen vacant and for filling up such vacancy the procedure referred to in rule 9(2) shall be followed.

22. Appeal.‑(1) Any member of the Teachers' Association or any candidate aggrieved of anything arising out of the conduct of election to the Governing Body, may prefer an appeal to the Government within seven days from the date of announcement of results of polls by the Election Officer under sub‑rule (8) of rule 19.

(2) The Government may, on an appeal filed under sub‑rule (1), pass such order as it may deem just and proper.

22. The procedure for election to the membership of Governing Body from the Teachers' Association as laid down in the preceding rules shall mutatis mutandis apply to the election of teachers' representatives to the Student‑Teacher Council constituted under section 16 of the Ordinance, subject to the modification that instead of electing three members to the Governing Body, two teachers or members shall be elected by the Teachers' Association to the Student‑Teacher Council.