ABSTRACT
One immediate result of the Constitutional Commission and the Electoral Commission of Enquiry was the publication on 29 January 1968 of the Interim Electoral Commission Decree (no. 221) under which an ‘Interim Electoral Commissioner’ was appointed on 3 April. He was given responsibility for:
(a) the registration of electors, (b) the annual revision of the registers of such electors; (c) the conduct of all elections, including referenda and plebiscites; (d) the periodic delimitation of the boundaries of the constituencies; (e) the appointment and dismissal of registration, revising, and returning officers and their supporting staff. (He could delegate his functions in regard to these matters to such other officers as he thought fit); (f) the issue of such procedural rules and regulations for the facilitation of the registration of electors and the fair conduct of elections; (g) the proper storage and use of all election materials; (h) the registration of political parties and their symbols; (i) the division of electoral districts into wards and sub-wards; (j) the rejection of the nomination paper of candidates; (k) declaring whether or not a candidate has been duly elected to the proper chamber; and (1) such other functions as may be prescribed by regulations under this Decree.
