BY-ELECTION BREACHES

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29878, 19 July 1962, Page 14

BY-ELECTION BREACHES

Duty To Report

Claims

(From Our Own Reporter) WELLINGTON, July 18. “If Mr Watt knows of any irregularities connected with the by-elect;or.s it is his duty to report them so they may be investigated.” said the ! Minister of Justice (Mr Hanan) tonight. ! Mr Hanan was referring -to an election speech by Mr H. Watt (Opposition.! Onehunga), a former Labour Minister of Works, at Timaru last night in which Mr Watt mentioned alleged breaches of the Electoral Act during the Buller campaign ard again in Timaru. Mr Watt had mentioned "rumours of unethical conduct" and said “we are going to make sure that those who overstep the mark will pay (the penalty for doing so." 1 Mr Hanan said: "The chief electoral officer informs me that he has been in continuous touch with the returning officer at Westport both before and since the by-election and has had nothing reported to him that suggests (that any of the election arrangements were not carried out strictly in accordance with the act. “Since the election, the returning officer and his staff engaged on the official count have conducted an exhaustive check and recount of votes. “This has been done in the presence of candidates’ scrutineers and a Justice of the Peace. The final count figures agreed to by the scrutineers and certified by the Justice of the Peace and the returning officer have been included in the official declaration of the result." Mr Hanan said it was Mr Watt’s duty to report any irregularities, if he knew of them.