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Article 2
 

 (1) In this Act and in any regulations made thereunder, unless the context otherwise requires --

'ballot box' means a box wherein voters place their marked ballot papers;

'Commission' shall mean the 'Electoral Commission' established by section 60 of the Constitution;

'House' means the House of Representatives established by the Constitution;

'identity card' means a document which is an identity card for the purposes of the Identity Card Act;

'official mark' means the stamp which the Commission and the political parties direct the Assistant Commissioners to use on the ballot paper prior to giving such ballot papers to the voter and may be of such form as each of them may determine provided that it many not in any way constitute any form of propaganda and the marks of the political parties shall not be necessary for the validity of the ballot paper. Political parties opting to use official marks shall deposit an imprint of the stamp to be so used at least one hour before the start of the poll;

'political party' shall, for the purposes only of sections 10 and 14 of this Act, mean any person or group of persons who having contested the general election under one name is represented in the House by, at least, one member or was so represented when the House was last dissolved, and in all other cases 'political party' shall mean any person or group of persons contesting the election as one group bearing the same name;

'polling booth' means the room wherein voters attend on the day of the poll to receive and mark a ballot paper and insert the same in a ballot box.

'polling place' means the school, building or other complex or structure wherein one or more polling booths are situated and shall include the grounds, if any, of such complex or structure.

'voting compartment' means such part of a polling booth wherein voters are to mark their ballot papers, and which is to be furnished with an adequate writing surface and instruments for such purpose;

'voting document' means the voting document which is to be forwarded to voters in terms of section 46 of this Act;

(2) Whenever by this Act a penalty is attached to the performance of any act 'before, during or after', an election, no account shall be taken of anything done earlier than

(a) in the case of any election held in consequence of a dissolution of Parliament under subsection (1) of section 76 of the Constitution, the issue of the Proclamation dissolving the House;

(b) in the case of any election held in consequence of a dissolution of Parliament under subsection (2) of section 76 of the Constitution of Malta, three months before the date of such dissolution.