CANDIDATES BARRED

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 95, 19 October 1938, Page 13

CANDIDATES BARRED

An, interesting situation arose in the Riccarton election, which is the closest in the Dominion at present, when the Labour Party proposed that Mr. T. H. McCombs, who retained his seat as Labour member for Lyttelton, should act as scrutineer in the Riccarton final count for the Labour candidate (Mr. T. H. Langford), who has a lead of 38 votes over the Nationalist (Mr. H. S. S. Kyle), states the "Christchurch StarSun." When the returning officer (Mr. Albert Freeman) asked for a ruling the matter was referred to the Crown Law Office, in Wellington. The official reply was that Mr. McCombs could not act as the Electoral Act forbade a candidate filling such a position in the official count Mr. Freeman said this morning that the Crown Law Office's decision was based on section 145, subsection 3, of the Act, which stipulated that no candidate could act as scrutineer. He added that Mr. McCombs fully realised the position on the receipt of the official ruling, which he accepted without question. So far the National Party has not appointed a scrutineer to act for Mr. Kyle, but in Mid-Canterbury, where the National candidate (Mr. A. N. Grigg) has a margin of 48 votes over Mr. H: E. Herring (Labour), the selection of Mr. V. W. Russell, solicitor, has been made to represent the National nominee.