ELECTION INVALID.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18414, 22 June 1925, Page 4

ELECTION INVALID.

WAIMAIHI SCHOOL COMMITTEE. The election of the last Waimairi School Committee has been declared invalid. At the recent meeting of householders to elect a School Committee for tho Waimakariri district, tlie meeting was presided over by a person residing outside the district. After the election, the Education Board received a petition signed by a number of residents asking that the election be declared ilivalid, on various grounds. 1 On all except two points, "the Board was able to come to tho'decision that the contentions of the petitioners could not bo sustained. i The two points in question are: (1) Whether a person not a householder of the slistrict can be elected to preside at a meeting to elect a School Committee, and (2) whether the fact that tho ballot papers are invalidated through a cross bfiing placed on the papers to indicate the name? of retiring members. These questions were submitted' to Mr T. F. Martin, solicitor to the Local Bodies' Association, and his opinion on the questions 13 as follows:—-(1) Under the Education Act, 1914, &nd Amendment Act, 1910. only "householders" of the school district are entitled to be present at the meeting, and the power given to chooso a chairman connotes that the chairman is to bo one of tho "householders" of the school district, and they only can give deliberative votes. Therefore the chairman in question does not come within the definition of "householder," and in particular was not the husband of a wife coming within the definition. (2) The indication on the ballot papers of the retiring members was an irregularity, as tending to influence votes, and was sufficiently serious. to invalidate the election.

In view of the above, the chairmanof the Board has declared the recent election invalid, and has given instructions that a fresh meeting of householders is to be called, probably for July oth. ,