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Article 56
 

(1) The members of the House of Representatives shall be elected upon the principle of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote from such number of electoral divisions, being an odd number and not less than nine and not more than fifteen, as Parliament shall from time to time determine.

(2) The election of members of the House of Representatives shall be free of illegal or corrupt practices and foreign interference.

 

(3) It shall be the duty of the Electoral Commission to suspend the election, either in all electoral divisions or in any one or more of such divisions, if it has reasonable ground to believe that illegal or corrupt practices or other offences connected with the elections have been committed or there has been foreign interference and such practices, offences or interference have so extensively prevailed or have been of such nature that they may reasonably be expected to affect the result of the election, in all or in any one or more of the electoral divisions

 

(4) In any case in which an election is suspended under subsection (3) of this section, the Chief Electoral Commissioner shall forthwith refer the matter to the constitutional court for its decision.

 

(5) Where any of the grounds on which an election may be suspended under subsection (3) of this section exist and the election has not been suspended, or where illegal or corrupt practices or other offences or foreign interference as are referred to in that subsection may reasonably be supposed to have affected the result of an election, in all or in any one or more of the electoral divisions, any person entitled to vote at that election may, not later than three days after the publication of the official result of the election, refer the matter to the Constitutional Court for its decision.

 

(6) Any reference to the Constitutional Court under either subsection (4) or subsection (5) of this section shall be made and shall be determined by that Court in accordance with any law for the time being in force in Malta. On any such reference the Court shall, without prejudice to any other powers, have power to annul the election, in all or in any one or more of the electoral divisions, on any of the grounds mentioned in the said subsections, and to give such directions and orders and to provide such redress and other remedies as it may deem appropriate in the circumstances and in particular to ensure that a free election, in place of any one that may have been annulled, be held at the earliest possible opportunity.

 

(7) Where an election has been annulled under subsection (6) of this section, the result of the election shall not be complete before the publication of the official result of a valid election in all electoral divisions.

 

(8) Except by a bill for an Act of Parliament passed in the manner specified in subsection (2) of section 66 of this Constitution, no alteration in any law shall be made --

(a) whereby any act or omission shall cease to be an illegal or corrupt practice or other offence relating to the election of members of the House of Representatives or foreign interference or

(b) which alters or adds to the circumstances or conditions in which or under which an act or omission is such a practice or other offence or foreign interference or

(c) reduces the punishment to which from time to time any such practice or other offence or interference renders the offender liable;

and for the purposes of this subsection the provisions of subsection (7) of section 66 of-this constitution shall apply as if references to the alteration to any of the provisions of this Constitution were references to the alteration of any law.

 

(9) No person shall vote at the election of members of the House of Representatives for any electoral division who is not registered under any law for the time being in force in Malta as a voter in that division.

 

(10) At the election of members of the House of Representatives --

(a) voting shall be by ballot and shall be carried out in such a manner as not to disclose the way in which the vote of any particular voter is given; and

(b) no person shall be permitted to vote on behalf of another:

Provided that provision may be made by law whereby, if a person is unable, by reason of blindness, other physical cause or illiteracy to mark on his ballot paper, his ballot paper may be marked on his behalf and on his directions by some other person officially supervising the poll at the place of voting.

 

(11) Ballot papers shall be drawn up in such a manner as to enable illiterates to distinguish between the political parties to which candidates belong.

 

(12) Candidates and their agents shall be given facilities to watch the transportation of ballot boxes and the sealing and unsealing thereof.

 

(13) The expressions "corrupt practice", "offences connected with the election of members of the House of Representatives" and "foreign interference" have the meaning assigned to them by a law for the time being in force regulating the conduct of elections or foreign interference with respect to elections, and any such law shall be deemed for the purposes of this section and of sections 32 to 47 (inclusive) of this Constitution to be reasonably required in the interests of public order and reasonably justifiable in a democratic society.