Raglan Appeal Now For Electoral Court

Northern Advocate, 11 January 1947, Page 6

Raglan Appeal Now For Electoral Court

i F.A. > HA A special petition to IHo electoral court, which consists ol' two judges of the Supreme Court, asking that the i esult of the Raglan election ot last November be reversed and that Mr. Hailyburton Johnstone be declared duly elected as Member ot Parliament for the district on tire grounds of alleged irregularities in voting has been lodged by Mr. Johnstone, National Party candidate for the seal. On the night ot the election Mr. A. C. Baxter, the Labour candidate, was successful by J majority of 45 votes, which the official recount reduced to a majority of 39. The national candidate later applied for a magisterial recount, the application being granted. Owing to the non-

HAMILTON. This Day

ai rival of overseas votes the recount cannot now be held until February. i The ciosing date lor lodging any petition is 28 days after the declaration by the returning officer of the result ol the election. This time limit expires on Monday, so Mr. Johnstone has been compelled to appeal without waiting for the result ol the magisterial recount. j GROUNDS FOR PETITION The chief grounds for the lodging of the petition include allegations that persons without correct residential qualifications voted at the elections; that persons under the age of 21 at j the time of the closing of the rolls j voted; that Maoris other than half- ; castes, voted in the European election; i that persons other than British sub- j jects exercised a vote; that a number of valid votes for the petitioner were j wrongly declared and counted as in- j formal; that a number of votes cast j for Mr Baxter were counted as valid, i when they, in fact, were informal and , should have been rejected.

The petition, which has been duly j handed to the returning officer for j the Raglan electorate (Mr J. H. C. | Hail id) asks that the court orders a | scrutiny and recount of votes cast in , the election, that the court declares j that Mr Baxter was not duly elected j and that Mr Hallyburton Johnstone be , declared duly elected member of Par- j liament for Raglan. The petition states that the petition- i er was lawfully elected, inasmuch as j the majority of valid votes cast at the j election were for him and not for ; Mr Baxter, who, therefore, was not entitled to be declared elected.