OFFICIAL RECOUNT FOR RAGLAN

Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 5283, 20 December 1946, Page 6

OFFICIAL RECOUNT FOR RAGLAN

ra?;? Ar.sn. —

•FORE MR. PATERSON •PLICATION BY LOSING I :andidate allowed i

Bu T elearavh — Coyyriaht.)

HAMILTON, Last Night. ' An application for a magisrial recount for the Raglan :at in the recent general eleeon wa? made hy Mr. A. L. /ompkins, on behalf of the ,fational eandidate, Mr. Hallylurton Johnstone, before Mr. S. Paterson, S.M., at the Hamil,o Courthouse to-day. I The application was on Ihe grourtd oat the applicant had reason to bepeve- thai the public deelaration oi" 'he number of votes credited to eaeh ' andidate at the election was ineorI t/Ci. I The magistrate agreed to the hold.rsg of an official recount, to be c-on-iucted in his pvesence, as soon as praeticahle. He stated that the re20unt would be held in the Hamilton Courthouse on Dccember "0 and '11. • On the nigfit of the election the Labour can.iidate, Mr. A. C. Baxter, was giveu a majority of 45 over Mr. •Johnstone, but on the linal ■cocnt Mr. Ba-xter's majority was reduced to 19. Mr. Hallyburton Johnstone, won the Raglan seat at a by-election early this year, when he gained a margin of 309 over Mr. A. C. Baxter. His margin when the provisional count was taken on the night of the election was 194 and this was inoreased to the 309 by t.he deelaration and postal votes. 1913 Eden Recount After Ihe .1943 General Election a magisieriift recount of votes cast in the Eden electorate was held in 'Auckland before Mr. F. II. Levien S.M. The National eandidate, Mr. W. 'H. Fortur.e, was 10 votes behind Mr. W. T. Andevion (Labour) when the application wa.-, made for the recount. At the eonclusion of the recount, Mr. Anderton retained the seat hy 14 votes. The right of a eandidate to appiy : for a magi.sterial recount is pravided for in the Electoral Act. It; states ihat if u eandidate has reason to beiievp that the public deelaration hv the Returning Oificer is ineorreet. and that upou a recount he may be found to be cluden, he may, withiri thveu days after the dcclarat.ion of Ihe poll, appiy to a magistrato for a recount. ftn making ihe application ihe can•diUate must deposit £20. The recount must be made in ihe presence of a magistrafc or of an ofi'icer appointed ■by hitn, and as far as practicable it inust be made in aceordanco v.'ith ihe lnethod adopted for the counting of •votes in ihe original count. • If ihe magistrate fnuls that tho-de--claratiuii is ineorreet he must: order xhe Returning OfTkei to pablisn an amended deelaration of the total number of \otes received by each eandidate. If the result is amended the applicant for the recount will be repaid . his depont less any costs ordered by the magistrate. The Returning Offieer must produce to the magistrate all the nsed ballot papers, together with a certificate stating that the total number of bnllot papers nsed at the election. If the magistrate ihaia that any of the papers nsed havo, in the meantimo, 'been iost. stolen or Interi'ered with, ihe off'ciai count made by tbe Returning Oificer will be doemo.l to be correel and the result of the election deelami aeeordingly.