NOT ENTITLED TO VOTE

Evening Star, Issue 25942, 6 November 1946, Page 8

NOT ENTITLED TO VOTE

DEFAULTERS STILL ON PAROLE FULL DISCHARGE NECESSARY (Special.) WELLINGTON, Nov. 6. ; The position of war-time defaulters at tne General Elections tliuj month was made abundantly clear to-’ day by the head office of tne National Employment Service. Briefly, it is that' men who were committed to defaulters’ detention camps and have been released on parole, whether by order of the revision authorities or, otherwise, will not be deemed to be discharged until tlie war has been officially declared ended, and will, therefore,'not be entitled to vote. , The department issued this official statement: “The amendment to the National Service Emergency Regulations which provided for the committal of military defaulters to defaulters’ detention camps enacted that every man committed to defaulters’ detention should remain under defaulters’, detention for tlie duration of the war,, unless sooner discharged in terms of the regulations. Defaulters could be-, come eligible for discharge if they elected to serve in the armed forces' or-were found permanently medically unfit for, service in the armed forces; “ The later amendment setting up. revision authorities empowered any revision authority to order, a release on parole-in certain cases, but gave no authority for discharge. - Any de-; faulters released under this procedure remain, therefore, defaulters on parole. The Electoral .Emergency Regulations, 1943,' bar military defaulters from registration under the Electoral Act, 1927, op exercising any: vote under that Act until they have been discharged from defaulters’ detention. i “ As the law stands at present those defaulters who have been released on parole, either by order of the revision authorities or otherwise, will not be deemed to be discharged until the Government has officially declared war to be ended.”