Election
GuidelinesResponsibility
for Election of a New Committee
The primary responsibility to initiate
elections of a new Committee in accordance with the provisions of the Punjab Cooperative
Societies Act, 1961 and the rules made thereunder, lies with the Committee of a
Cooperative Society. Section 26 (C) provides that each Committee shall 90 days before the
expiry of its term, make arrangement for the constitution of a new Committee.
In case the Committee of a Cooperative
Society fails to initiate the process of elections, it is incumbent upon the Registrar to
make such arrangements as may be necessary, to hold elections in accordance with the
provisions of the Act and the rules made thereunder, after making necessary arrangements
for management of day to day affairs of the Society through an administrator as per
provisions of section 26(1-D).
Term of an Elected
Committee
The term of office of an elected
Committee of a Cooperative Society is five years from the date of its election and not
from the date it assumes office.
Appointment of
Election Manager
The Registrar should appoint any person
as an Election Manager for the purposes of election to the Managing Committee of a
Cooperative Society. In case no such appointment is made, Chief Executive Officer of the
Cooperative Society would act as the Election Manager.
Formation of Zones
4.0It is the responsibility of
the Committee of a Cooperative Society, except in case of Primary Cooperative Societies,
election for which are held in a special meeting, to divide its area of operation into
zones for the purpose of elections of the members of the Committee. The Committee should
propose such zones as it considers appropriate, to the Registrar for his approval. It
should keep in view following parameters for formation of zones:
Contiguity and compactness of area;
Proportionate distribution of members
having voting rights; and
Norms for formation of
zones, if any, prescribed as per bye-laws of the society
The Chief Executive Officer of the
Cooperative Society should submit a list of proposed zones to the Registrar at least 60
days before the expiry of the tenure of the Committee. In case the Committee of a
Cooperative Society has not initiated the process of election and an Administrator has
been appointed by the Registrar, it should be incumbent upon the Administrator to submit
such a proposal as early as possible but not beyond 60 days from the date he is appointed
as such. In the event, an Administrator is unable to finalise the list of zones within 60
days, he should clarify reasons for not doing so in writing to the Registrar.
On receipt of the list of zones, the
Registrar or any other officer authorised by him should invite objections by giving a
notice of 15 clear days with reference to formation of zones of the Cooperative Society
specifying therein:
the last date of filing
objections to constitution of zones;
the date of hearing of
objections by the Registrar or any other officer authorised by him; and
the date of display of
final list of zones after approval of the Registrar
The notice inviting objections to
formation of zones should be exhibited at the registered office of the Cooperative Society
and at some conspicuous places in the area of operation of the Cooperative Society. This
would be in addition to any other mode of notice, which may be specified in the bye-laws
or in the resolution of the Committee or may be specified by the Registrar by a general or
special order.
In pursuance of the notice, any voter
or share holder of a Cooperative Society may submit his objections along with necessary
evidence to the Registrar or any other officer authorised by him.
The Registrar should after providing an
opportunity of hearing to all those who submit objections decide, finalise and approve the
zones with or without modifications. He should pass a speaking order in this behalf.
The zones so approved by the Registrar
should remain valid for the purpose of elections to the Committee of a Cooperative Society
for at least ten years from the date of formation except in cases where addition or
deletion, if any, in the opinion of the Registrar is necessary because of registration of
new societies, liquidation of existing societies, enrolment of new members and deletion of
existing members.
The zones approved by the Registrar
should be final and no appeal under section 68 of the Punjab Cooperative Societies Act,
1961 lies against such an order of the Registrar. Any dispute with regard to formation of
zones can possibly be raised by a share holder or a member of the Society only through a
reference of election dispute under section 55/56 of the Act, ibid and the rules made
thereunder.
Preparation of
Zone-wise List of Voters
The Election Manager of a Cooperative
Society should within seven days of the receipt of the list of approved zones from the
Registrar, prepare zone-wise list of voters and exhibit the same at the registered office
of the Society. Such a list should be exhibited for at least seven days after notifying
the Election Program.
In case a member is not entitled to vote
merely because he is a defaulter, his name should also be exhibited in the list clearly
marking him as such. Such a member should be eligible to vote if he clears his defaults
and produces a ‘Clearance Certificate’ from the concerned Cooperative Society on
or before the close of withdrawal of nominations.
Preparation and
Finalisation of Election Programme
The Election Manager of a Cooperative
Society should within seven days from the date of issuing final zone-wise list of voters,
draw a detail election programme providing for the date, time and place for:
Receipt of Resolution by a Cooperative
Society from Member Societies (wherever applicable);
Filing of nomination papers;
Filing of objections by nominated
candidates or their proposers;
Scrutiny of nomination papers;
Exhibition of list of validly nominated
candidates;
Withdrawal of nomination papers;
Declaration of result of uncontested
elections;
Allotment of symbols;
Exhibition of list of contesting
candidates;
Poll, if necessary;
Counting of votes; and
Declaration of results.
The election programme so drawn should be
submitted to the Registrar for his approval.
On receipt of detail election programme,
the Registrar should convey his approval within seven days unless he has reasons to
withhold his consent and in such a situation, he should pass a speaking order in writing.
No election programme approved by the
Registrar should be altered, modified or deferred except in circumstances as follows:
Death of a candidate;
Serious law and order problem; and
Wide-spread natural calamity
Provided that the Returning Officer or
the Assistant Returning Officer should within 24 hours submit a detail report to the
Registrar regarding alteration, modification or postponement of elections giving reasons
thereof, in writing.
Appointment of a
Returning Officer and an Assistant Returning Officer
The Registrar should appoint an officer
of the Department of Cooperation as a Returning Officer for elections to the Managing
Committee of a Cooperative Society. He should also appoint an Assistant Returning Officer
to assist the Returning Officer and if a situation so warrants, to act as Returning
Officer to ensure smooth and fair conduct of elections. The Assistant Returning Officer
would act under the control and superintendence of the Returning Officer and would have
all powers of a Returning Officer, if required to function as such.
Election Notice
In addition to any other mode, which may
be prescribed as per bye-laws of a Cooperative Society or specified by the Registrar
through a general or a special order, the Election Manager of a Cooperative Society should
exhibit election notice indicating the election programme for the zones constituted at
least 15 days before the date of election at the registered office of the Cooperative
Society and its branch office, if any, and some other conspicuous places in the area of
operation of the Society. In case of apex and Central Cooperative Societies, notice should
also be published in at least one each Punjabi and English newspapers, having circulation
in the area of operation of the Cooperative Society.
Filing of Nomination
Papers
Any person who is a voter may file his
nomination paper in Form I as a candidate for elections from the zone in which he is
listed as a voter, provided that such a person should be President of a Primary
Agriculture Cooperative Society or a member duly authorised by the Cooperative Society as
per its bye-laws, in case he files nomination papers on behalf of that Cooperative
Society. The nomination of each candidate should be made on a separate nomination paper.
It should be submitted to the Returning Officer or the Assistant Returning Officer by the
candidate himself. The nomination should be proposed by a voter belonging to the zone from
which a candidate is seeking election.
The nominated candidate if contesting as
individual should declare on oath that:
he is not in default to any Cooperative
Society in respect of any sum due from him to the Cooperative Society or does not owe to
any Cooperative Society an amount exceeding his maximum credit limit;
he does not have any direct or indirect
interest in any contract to which the Cooperative Society is a party except in
transactions made with the Cooperative Society as a member in accordance with the objects
of the Cooperative Society as stated in the bye-laws;
he has not been at any time during a
period of one year prior to the date of scrutiny of nomination papers, engaged in any
private business, trade or profession of any description which is carried on by the
society;
he has not been convicted for any
offence involving dishonesty or moral turpitude during a period of five years prior to the
date of scrutiny of nomination papers;
he is not covered under any of the
restrictions as per rule 29 of the Punjab Cooperative Societies Rules, 1963;
he has not, during a period of 12
months preceding the date of filing of nomination papers, remained inactive as member or
has not been carrying on, through agencies other than the Cooperative Society of which he
is a member, the same business as is being carried on, by the Cooperative Society;
he has not incurred any other
disqualification as laid down in the bye-laws of the Society;
he has not been a member of the
Managing Committee of the Society for two continuous terms and in case, he has served on
the Committee of the Cooperative Society for two continuous terms, a period of five years
has expired since he last so served; and
he is not a member of Managing
Committees of more than two Primary Cooperative Societies or more than one Central or Apex
Cooperative Society.
Similar declaration should be made on
behalf of a Cooperative Society by the person authorised by that Cooperative Society to
participate in election. Specimen of Declaration on Oath is attached as annex-I.
Register of
Nominations
The Returning Officer or Assistant
Returning Officer should maintain or cause to be maintained a register in Form II, in
which each nomination paper should be entered. He should also issue an acknowledgement
(pertorated receipt) of having received the nomination paper to the candidate or his
proposer.
Scrutiny of
Nomination Papers
The Returning Officer/Assistant Returning
Officer should scrutinise nomination papers at the place, date and time, specified in this
behalf in the election programme. He should hear objections, if any, presented or raised
during the course of scrutiny in regard to eligibility of any candidate and dispose of
these objections after such enquiries, as he may deem necessary. The decision of rejecting
or accepting the nomination papers and brief statement of reasons therefor, should be
recorded on the nomination papers itself.
No nomination papers should be rejected
merely on the basis of clerical errors or conjectures. Since rejection of nomination
papers of an eligible candidate implies denial of a basic right to contest, rejection of
nomination papers should be carefully considered. The Returning Officer/Assistant
Returning Officer should ensure that the person raising objections on nomination papers of
a candidate is a candidate or proposer of a candidate of the concerned zone.
Nomination papers of a candidate should
be rejected if he is disqualified to become a member of the Managing Committee of a
Cooperative Society. A person is disqualified to be a member of the Managing Committee of
a Cooperative Society, if:
he is in default to any Cooperative
Society in respect of any sum due from him to the Cooperative Society or he owes to any
Cooperative Society an amount exceeding his maximum credit limit;
he has any direct or
indirect interest in any contract to which the Cooperative Society is a party except in
transaction made with the Cooperative Society as stated in the bye-laws;
he has at any time
during a period of one year prior to the date of scrutiny of nomination papers, engaged in
any private business, trade or profession of any description, which is carried on by the
society;
he has been convicted
for any offence involving dishonesty or moral turpitude during a period of five years
prior to the date of scrutiny of nomination papers;
he is covered under any of the
restrictions as laid down in rule 29 of the Punjab Cooperative Societies rules, 1963;
he has, during a period of 12 months
preceding the date of filing of nomination papers, remained inactive as a member of has
been carrying on, through agencies other than the Cooperative Society of which he is a
member, the same business as is being carried on, by the Cooperative Society;
he has incurred any other
disqualification as laid down in the bye-laws of the Society;
he has been a member of the Managing
Committee of the Society for two continuous terms and in case, he has served on the
Committee of the Cooperative Society for two continuous terms, a period of five years has
not expired since he last so served; and
he is a member of the Managing
Committee of more than two Primary Cooperative Societies or one Central or Apex
Cooperative Society.
In case a person is representing a
Cooperative Society, disqualification of that Society should be seen while rejecting the
nomination papers.
In case an objection is raised that the
candidate is a defaulter, the Returning Officer/Assistant Returning Officer should insist
for certificate of Default/No Default from the Society of which the contesting candidate
is alleged to be a defaulter. Such a certificate should be produced on or before the close
of withdrawal of nominations.
In case a candidate is allegedly
disqualified to contest or become a member of the Managing Committee of a Society, he may
be allowed time to disprove his disqualification, if he so desires, by the Returning
Officer/Assistant Returning Officer. However, such a time should be not beyond the time to
close the withdrawal of nomination papers. The Returning Officer/Assistant Returning
Officer should pass a speaking order in this regard, before the close of withdrawal of
nominations.
The Returning Officer should after
scrutiny of nomination papers, prepare and announce a list of validly nominated candidates
and the same should be exhibited at the registered office of the Cooperative Society or
the place where nomination papers were filed and at some conspicuous places in the area of
operation of the Cooperative Society as may be directed by the Registrar through a general
or special order.
List of Validly Nominated
Candidates
Immediately after scrutiny of
nominations, the Returning Officer/Assistant Returning Officer should draw a list of
validly nominated candidates in Form III and display the same at the registered office of
the Cooperative Society or the place where nomination papers were filed and some other
conspicuous places as may be directed by the Registrar through a general or special order.
Withdrawal of Nomination
Papers
Any candidate may withdraw his nomination
by a notice in writing, which should be subscribed and submitted by him personally to the
Returning Officer/Assistant Returning Officerby the date, time and place as
specified in the election programme. The Returning Officer/Assistant Returning Officer
should carefully consider the withdrawal papers of a candidate and verify that the
withdrawal notice is duly authenticated by him. No candidate should be allowed to cancel
his withdrawal once he has submitted the notice of withdrawal and the same has been duly
accepted by the Returning Officer/Assistant Returning Officer.
Election of Unopposed
Candidates
The Returning Officer / Assistant
Returning Officer should, after preparing the list of validly nominated candidates,
declare the candidate elected, if there is no contest about his election and communicate
the same to the Presiding Officer, if appointed, the Election Manager of the society and
the Registrar. The result of unopposed election should be displayed at the registered
office of the Cooperative Society or the place where nominations were filed and at some
other conspicuous places as may be directed by the Registrar through a general or special
order.
Death of a Candidate
before Poll
If a candidate dies after the last date
of filing of nomination papers and before the commencement of poll and a report to that
effect is received by the Returning Officer / Assistant Returning Officer, he should
countermand the election in respect of the zone, for which the deceased was a candidate.
The Returning Officer/Assistant Returning Officer should after passing the order to
countermand the elections, send the same to the Registrar and the Election Manager of the
Cooperative Society. Election for such a zone should be held denovo in keeping with the
rules and procedures.
Allotment of Election
Symbol
The Returning Officer
and / or Assistant Returning Officer should allot to each candidate, a symbol out of the
list of symbols (Annex-II) approved by the Registrar;
The symbol should be allotted in order
of preference of each candidate. As far as possible, a candidate should be allotted the
symbol he has opted out of the list of approved symbols. In case a symbol has been opted
by more than one candidates, it should be allotted through draw of lots. The candidate,
who fails to get his first preference of a symbol in a draw of lots, should be allotted
his second opted symbol.
The Returning Officer
and / or Assistant Returning Officer should, immediately after the allotment of symbols to
the candidates, prepare a list, in alphabetical order, of the contesting candidates from
each zone in Form III-A, showing against each candidate the symbol allotted to him.
Display of list of
Contesting Candidates
The Returning Officer and / or Assistant
Returning Officer should display the list of contesting candidates in Form III-A at a
conspicuous place in his office. He should also send two copies of the list to the
Election Manager of the Cooperative Society for displaying the same at the registered
office of the Cooperative Society and the place where election for the respective zone is
to take place.
Appointment of
Presiding Officer/Alternative Presiding Officer
The Returning Officer/Assistant Returning
Officer should appoint a Presiding Officer and an Alternative Presiding Officer for a
polling station where polling is to be held. The Returning Officer/Assistant Returning
Officer should also appoint an adequate number of Polling Officials to assist the
Presiding Officer/Alternative Presiding Officer. The Presiding Officer/Alternative
Presiding Officer may, if an emergent situation so warrants, himself appoint Polling
Officials at the time of poll for its smooth conduct. The Alternative Presiding Officer
would function under the control and superintendence of the Presiding Officer and if a
situation so warrants act, as a Presiding Officer.
The Returning Officer/Assistant Returning
Officer should ensure that no employee of a Cooperative Society, for which the election is
being held or the employees of the Department directly incharge of that Society, are
appointed as Presiding Officer, Alternative Presiding Officer or Polling officials to
conduct the poll. The Presiding Officer/Alternative Presiding Officer should be incharge
of all arrangements and materials at the polling station and may issue such
directions/orders, as may be necessary, at the time of poll, for its smooth conduct.
Establishment of Polling
Booths, Provision of Ballot Boxes and Printing of Ballot Papers
The Returning Officer or an Alternative
Returning Officer should establish as many polling booths as he may consider necessary,
provided that number of voters at a booth should not exceed 750.
For establishment of polling booths,
provision of ballot boxes and printing of ballot papers, if required, necessary
arrangements should be made by the Election Manager of the Cooperative Society. The
Election Manager may seek such assistance, as may be necessary, from the employees of the
Cooperation Department. The ballot papers should be printed or got printed by the
Returning Officer/Assistant Returning Officer.
Election material to
be Supplied for a Polling Station
The Election Manager should provide at
each polling stations:-
Two final lists of contesting
candidates;
Two final lists of voters of the
respective zone;
A sufficient number of ballot papers
bearing the names in alphabetical order written in Punjabi on the left side and the symbol
allotted to each contesting candidate and a space for fixing the seal on the right side;
The requisite number of ballot boxes;
Three rubber seals of cross mark for
the purpose of marking the ballot papers by the voters; and
One brass seal for sealing the election
papers and other necessary election material such as stamp-pad, sealing wax, candle, gum,
needle, thread, ball, piece of cloth, envelops and white cloth bag for sealing the
necessary election papers.
Appointment of
Polling Agents
Each candidate should be allowed to
appoint one Polling Agent for each polling station.
Procedure before
commencement of poll
Before the commencement of the poll, the
Presiding Officer /Alternative Presiding Officer should show the un-used ballot box to
each of the candidates or their polling agents, as may be present at the polling station,
so that they may ascertain that the ballot box is empty. He should, thereafter, lock it up
and fix his seal as well as the seals of the candidates or their agents, if they so
desire, upon the box in such a manner as to prevent it from being opened without breaking,
such seals. This procedure should be repeated for each box to be used subsequently; and
The ballot box should be so kept in front of the
Presiding Officer/Alternative Presiding Officer that it is visible to the candidates or
their polling agents.
Conduct of Polling
The election should be held by a secret
ballot and a voter should exercise his vote in person at a specified place in the zone in
which he/she has been enlisted as a voter; and
The poll should commence and close at the time fixed in
the election programme. All the voters present at the polling station before the closing
time should be entitled to record their votes even after the closing time provided that
they are issued a token recognizing their presence by the Presiding Officer/Assistant
Presiding Officer before the closing time.
Procedure for Voting
Before a ballot paper is delivered/issued
to a voter by the polling official, the voter should speak out his name, to the polling
official, who should compare his/her details with those in the list of voters. In case the
voter is representing a Cooperative Society, he should produce a resolution of the
Cooperative Society, authorising him to do so. Such a resolution should have been passed
by the Society after notification of election; should be attested by the Chief Executive
Officer of the Cooperative Societies except in case of Primary Cooperative Societies where
it should be attested by the Inspector Incharge of the Society; and should have been
received by the Election Manager four days prior to the date of filing nominations.
Polling officials should after
comparing the details of the voters with the official copy of list of voters, tick-mark
against the serial number of the voter in the list of voters in order to ensure that the
voter has received the ballot paper. He should also record the serial number of the ballot
paper against the entry pertaining to the voter in the list of voters.
No voter representing a Cooperative
Society should be issued a ballot paper provided a copy of the resolution of the Society
duly attested, authorising the voter to represent it for the election, is received by the
Election Manager four days prior to the date of filing and the same is provided to the
Presiding Officer / Alternative Presiding Officer for verification. In case such a
resolution is not received by the Manager within the stipulated period, such
representative of the Cooperative Society should not be entitled to vote. In the event
that the Election Manager has not forwarded the copy of the resolution received by him to
the Presiding Officer/Alternative Presiding Officer for verification, the eligible voter
cannot be denied his right to vote.
The voter having being
issued a ballot paper should record his vote in the polling compartment. He should affix
the rubber seal of cross-mark (X) on the ballot paper at the name of a candidate in whose
favour he wishes to cast the vote or at his election symbol or at the open space against
his name and should insert the ballot paper properly folded in the ballot box.
If a voter after
obtaining the ballot paper for the purpose of recording his vote decides not to use the
same, he should return the ballot paper to the Presiding Officer/Alternative Presiding
Officer and the ballot paper so returned should then be marked as
"returned/cancelled" and kept in a separate packet set apart for the purpose and
record should be kept by the Presiding Officer/Alternative Presiding Officer of all such
ballot papers.
If under any
circumstance, a ballot paper is found to be defective or otherwise unfit for use, the
Presiding Officer at the request of the voter should issue another ballot paper and keep
the defective one in a separate packet referred to above.
If any ballot paper,
which has been issued to any voter for the purpose of recording his vote, has not been put
in the ballot box but it has been found left by the voter at the Polling Station, it
should be presumed as cancelled and dealt with in accordance with the procedure mentioned
above.
Authentication of
ballot papers
The Presiding Officer/Alternative
Presiding Officer should sign ballot papers on the back before these are issued to voters
at a polling station.
Tendered votes
If a person representing himself to be a
particular voter named in the list of voters applies for a ballot paper after an other
person has voted as such voter, he should, after duly satisfying the Presiding
Officer/Alternative Presiding Officer, be entitled to vote. The Presiding
Officer/Alternative Presiding Officer should issue a ballot paper to the voter in the
reverse order beginning from the last serial number of the ballot papers to be used at the
polling station. The voter, after exercising his right of vote should hand over the ballot
paper to the Presiding Officer who should keep it in a separate packet super-scribed as
"tendered vote". Tendered votes should not to be counted for the results of the
elections;
The name of the voter, his serial number in the list of
voters and the name of the Polling Station to which the list relates should be entered in
a list bearing the heading "Tendered Votes". The persons tendering such ballot
paper should sign his name and address thereon or affix his thumb impression against the
entry in the list; and
"List of Tendered Votes",
should be prepared by the Presiding Officer/Alternative Presiding Officer in Form IV.
Challenged Votes
If any candidate or a Polling agent
declares and undertakes to prove that any person applying for a ballot paper has committed
the offence of impersonation, the Presiding Officer/Alternative Presiding Officer may
require such person to enter in the list of challenged votes, his name and address or if
he is unable to write, to affix his thumb impression and may further require such person
to produce proof of identification. If the Presiding Officer/Alternative Presiding Officer
is satisfied about his identity as a voter, he should be allowed to vote. The Presiding
Officer/Alternative Presiding Officer should, in every case whether or not the person
challenged is allowed to vote, make a note of the circumstances in the list of challenged
votes in Form V.
Re-poll in Case of
Destruction of Ballot Boxes or due to Natural Calamity etc.
If in an election, any ballot box is
unlawfully taken out of the custody of the Presiding Officer/Alternative Presiding Officer
or it is, in any way, tampered with or is accidentally destroyed or lost, the polling of
that booth(s) to which the ballot box relates, should be declared void by the Returning
Officer and / or Assistant Returning Officer who should report the matter to the Registrar
for ordering re-poll provided that such a re-poll is held within 72 hours from the close
of the poll.
Counting of Votes and
Declaration of Results
The Presiding Officer/Alternative
Presiding Officer should immediately after close of the poll and in the presence of the
candidates or their polling agents:
Inspect and also allow the candidates
or their polling agents to inspect the ballot boxes and their seals in order to satisfy
that the boxes and their seals are intact;
Open the ballot boxes, take out the
ballot papers from the boxes and arrange them in convenient bundles of 25 votes each;
Allow the candidates and their agents,
who may be present, a reasonable opportunity to inspect all ballot papers, which in the
opinion of the presiding Officer/Alternative Presiding Officer are liable to be rejected
but should not allow them to handle these or any other ballot papers.;
The Presiding/Alternative Presiding
Officer should on every ballot paper, which is rejected, endorse the word
"rejected" along with reasons thereof;
The Presiding Officer/Alternative
Presiding Officer should count the valid votes polled to each candidate with the help of
the persons appointed to assist him in counting of votes;
After counting of valid votes, the
Presiding Officer/Alternative Presiding Officer should declare the candidate who secure
majority of votes, elected;
In case the number of votes in favour
of two candidates are equal, the matter should be decided by lots by the PO/APO.
The result of each election zone should
be recorded in Result Sheet in Form VI.
After declaration of results, the
Returning Officer or the Assistant Returning Officer, should prepare a consolidated list
of elected candidates including those declared elected unopposed and communicate the names
of persons elected under his signatures to the Registrar and the Election Manager of the
Society. The Election Manager of the Cooperative Society should exhibit the list of
persons elected at the registered office of the Cooperative Society and at some
conspicuous places in the area of operation of the Cooperative Society for a minimum
period of seven days after declaration of results.
Rejection of Ballot
Papers
A ballot paper contained in the ballot
box should be rejected, if:
it bears any mark or writing by which
the voter can be identified’;
it does not bear the
signatures of Presiding Officer/Alternative Presiding Officer ;
The Presiding
Officer/Alternative Presiding Officer is satisfied that the ballot paper is spurious or so
damaged or mutilated that its identity as a genuine ballot paper cannot be established;
and
From the rubber seal of
cross mark affixed on the ballot paper, it is not clear in whose favour the vote has been
cast.
Preparation of
Returns
After declaration of results, the
Presiding Officer/Alternative Presiding Officer should forthwith prepare a statement
showing:
Name of contesting candidates;
Number of valid votes polled by each
candidate;
Number of votes rejected;
Total votes polled; and
Name of the candidate declared elected.
He should also issue a copy of Return in
Form VI to the elected candidate and forward a copy thereof to the Returning Officer
and/Assistant Returning Officer, the Election Manager and the Registrar;
Election Papers to be
Forwarded to the Election Manager
The Presiding Officer/Alternative
Presiding Officer should submit to the Election Manager against a regular receipt,
election papers in separate sealed covers, which should carry the description of their
contents as follows:-
the ballot papers counted as valid;
the ballot papers rejected as invalid;
the un-used ballot papers’;
the issued tendered ballot
papers’;
the cancelled and returned ballot
papers;
the list of tendered votes;
the list of challenged votes;
the copy of result sheet in Form VI;
account of the ballot papers in Form
VII; and
the marked copy of the list of voters
of the cooperative society; and
nomination papers
Custody of Election
Papers
The Election Manager should retain the
sealed packets handed over to him in his custody till the next election.
II FOR ELECTIONS TO
THE COMMITTEE OF PRIMARY COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES, IF HELD IN A SPECIAL MEETINGPreparation and
Finalisation of Election Programme
The Election Manager of the Cooperative
Society should prepare an election programme specifying date, time and place for the
following:
Display of list of voters at least 45
days before the date of election indicating dis-qualifications, if any;
Issue of notice for special general
meeting at least 15 days’ prior to the date of the meeting.
He should submit the
same to the Registrar at least 45 days before the date of special general meeting.
The Registrar should within seven days
of receipt of such programme, convey his approval, failing which, he should record the
reasons in writing for not according the approval.
Calling of General
Meeting
The meeting for the election of the
members of the Committee should be convened by the Election Manager or Secretary of a
Cooperative Society under the directions of the Committee and should be held in the manner
prescribed in the bye-laws of the society. At least 15 days’ clear notice specifying
the date, time, place and agenda of the meeting should be given to all members.
In case the Election Manager or
Secretary fails to convene the general meeting as above, the Registrar, should convene the
meeting.
The notice of the meeting should be
given:--
by affixing a copy of the notice at the office of the
Co-operative Society; and
by circulation of the notice book and getting the
signatures of members on it; or
by sending the notice to members by Registered post; or
by beat of drum in the area of
operation of the Cooperative Society provided the area of operation consists of one
village only; or
by any other mode as may be prescribed
by the Registrar through a Special or General order.
Presiding over the
meeting
The meeting should be presided over by the Returning
Officer and / or Assistant Returning Officer.
Proposals of
candidates for contesting Elections
The names of the candidates should be
proposed and seconded by any of the members present in the meeting; and
The Returning Officer and / or Assistant Returning
Officer should ask and permit the candidates to withdraw their names immediately after
such proposal has been made.
Voting
If the number of candidates left after
the withdrawal is equal to or less than the number of persons to be elected, all the
persons should be declared elected by the Returning Officer and / or Assistant Returning
Officer;
If the number of candidates is larger
than the number of persons to be elected, the election should take place by secret ballot;
Each voter present should be supplied with an
improvised ballot paper having approved symbols, indicating against each, the name of the
candidate to whom such symbol has been allotted and bearing the stamp of the society. The
voter should affix a rubber stamp having inscribed cross mark on the symbol against the
name of the candidate in whose favour he wants to cast his vote; and
The improvised ballot paper on which vote has been
recorded should be cast in a closed ballot box.
Counting of Votes
The ballot boxes should be opened
immediately after the close of polling in the presence of contesting candidate or their
respective authorized agent. Votes polled to each candidate should be counted separately.
The candidates found to have secured largest number of votes in order of merit should be
declared elected by the Returning Officer and/Assistant Returning Officer. In the event of
candidates securing equal number of votes, the matter should be decided by draw of lot.
The Returning Officer and / or Assistant Returning Officer should, immediately after the
completion of counting, declare the result in the meeting itself. After the declaration of
the result, he should communicate the same to the Election Manager and the Registrar; and
The proceedings of the meeting should also be recorded in
the minutes book and should be signed by the Returning Officer and / or Assistant
Returning Officer.
Save as otherwise provided, the procedure
for appointment of election manager, appointment of Returning Officer and Assistant
Returning Officer, and disqualifications of candidates should be same as in case of
elections to the Managing Committee of other Cooperative Societies, where elections are
held by dividing the area of operation into zones.
General
The ‘Registrar’ means the
Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Punjab at the appropriate level. It includes as
following:
All Primary Cooperative Societies -
Assistant Registrar, except Primary Cooperative House Cooperative Societies,
Building Societies concerned
Primary Cooperative House Building -
Deputy Registrar, Societies, Urban Cooperative Banks, Cooperative Societies PADBs,
Cooperative Marketing – concerned cum-Processing Societies, District Labour
Union and District Cooperative Unions
Central Cooperative Societies - Joint
Registrar, including Cooperative Milk Unions, Cooperative Societies, Cooperative Sugar
Mills concerned Cooperative Spinning Mills and Central Cooperative Banks
All Apex Cooperative Societies -
Registrar/Additional Registrar, Cooperative Societies
These guidelines/directions are issued in
keeping with the provisions of the Punjab Cooperative Societies Act, 1961, Appendix
‘C’ to the Punjab Cooperative Societies Rules 1963 and in exercise of powers
vested with the Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Punjab under clause 12 of appendix
‘C’. In case of any conflict between these guidelines/directions and the Act and
the Rules made thereunder, the provisions of the Act and the Rules would prevail. If an
issue needs to be clarified, the matter should be referred to the Registrar, Cooperative
Societies, Punjab.