Judge rules election valid

Press, 4 November 1978, Page 2

Judge rules election valid

The returning officer of the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society, John Milne Checketts, was wrong when he ruled that a nomin-;I ation for the society’s council was invalid because it did not contain a signature consenting to the nomin- ■ ation, Mr Justice Perry de-J cided in a reserved judgment given in the Supreme Court yesterday. r: ; His Honour made orders;' declaring that George Mug- ’ ford, farmer, of Tai Tapu,; was elected to the acclimati-; sation society’s council in! 1 the 1977 election, and that 1 Mr Checketts’s decision to declare elected Ronald Bruce] Hill, a horticultural tech-j] nician, was contrary to the]’ rules nf the society, and in-] 1 valid. Mr Mugford was awarded costs of $350 against the 1 , society. The case was heard on! September 14 when .Mr J. R.l Fox and Miss J. Lowe ap-] 1 peared for Mr Mugford, the] plaintiff; and Mr A. D. Hol-J land for the society, the first! defendant, and for Mr Checketts, the second defendant. His Honour said that in August, 1977, Mr Mugford stood for election as a council member of the society of which he was already a] councillor but his term was) expiring. Mr Checketts Was! the council’s secretary and returning officer. After the issue of the pro-’ ceedings, Mr Hill was 1 declared elected as he was] the only other candidate for] election in the Ellesmere-] Leeston - Akaroa - Halswellj sub-district. Court proceed-’ ings .werjß taken by Mr Mugford , because he was; ;decla’red the unsuccessful c didate. When Mr Mugford filled in his nomination form it I was completed in a hurry at] a meeting on August 29,; 1977, and he had printed his; name at the beginning of the! form but did not sign it. i Mr Checketts had accepted!

the form al that time as a proper nomination, ballot papers were prepared and, on return, were opened in ;the presence of scrutineers. Although a majority of votes was cast for Mr Mug-; ford — 495 against 335 for ]Mr Hill — Mr Hill was! declared elected. It appeared’ that before the announcing of the election the omission; of Mr Mugford’s sjgnature! was noted by either Mr! Checketts or the scrutineers. Acting on the advice of] the society’s solicitors, Mr] ’Checketts declared Mr Hill! elected, said his Honour. After reviewing various] legal cases and authorities! , submitted by Miss Lowe, his ] Honour said: “These author- ; ities are persuasive author- ’ ity only. Nevertheless they; confirm the opinion ex-] ■ pressed so far back in New Zealand that in election mat-] ; ters the courts will look to; ) the substance rather than! the form. ! “This is the view I think 11 should take.