What penalties are envisioned for offences related to obstructing the electoral process?

'illegal practice' means any offenceagainst this Act which is not a corrupt practice or an offence by reasonof section 16(1), 17(3) or section 99;

99. Alllicenses issued under the provisions of the Liquor Licenses Act shall besuspended during the hours of the day on which a poll is being held for ageneral election and any person selling or exposing or offering for sale anyintoxicating liquor during such hours hours shall be deemed to be so doing while not holding a licenseunder the provisions of the Liquor Licenses Act.

Provided that when there the a bye-electionin a constituency all licenses issued under the provisions of the LiquorLicenses Act in respect of premises in that constituency and within five milesof the boundaries of that constituency shall be suspended during the hours ofthe day in which a poll is being held for the election of a candidate in suchconstituency; and any person selling or exposing or offering for sale any intoxicating liquorduring such hours in breach of the foregoing provisions of this provisoshall be deemed to be doing so while not holding a license under the provisionsof Liquor Licenses Act.

16.  (8) Any person who obstructs or interferes with ascrutineer in the performance of any of his duties or in the exercise ofhis rights under this section or who falsely holds himself out or acts as ascrutineer appointed under this section shall be guilty of an offencepunishable on summary conviction by imprisonment for a term of one year or by a fine of five thousanddollars or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(9) Every scrutineer who willfully neglectsor omits or refuses to perform any of his duties under this section forfeitshis right to payment for any services already rendered.

(10) Every scrutineer who knowingly submitsor renders to the Parliamentary Commissioner any result of an enumerationcarried out by him which is false by reason of-

(a) the willful omission of the name of aperson who is entitled to be: or

(b) the willful insertion of thename of a person who is not entitled to be, 
on that part of the register for the constituency in which the enumeration wascarried out shall be guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction by afine not exceeding tenthousand dollars and by imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years or byboth such fine and imprisonment.

100.(1) Any person who at any election behaves in a violent, offensive,disorderly or insulting manner shall be guilty of an offence againstthis Act.

(2)Any person who at any time on the day of an election tampers, defaces or interferes with a pollingbooth or obstructs the entrance to any polling place, or, obstructs orinterferes with any voter or loiters or does any electioneering within onehundred yards or hearing distance of a polling place, shall be guilty ofan offence against this Act.

(3) A person shall not-

(a) print or publish, or cause to beprinted or published, any bill, placard, or poster having reference to anelection or any printed document distributed for the purpose of promoting orprocuring the election of a candidate; or

(b) post or cause to be posted any suchbill, placard or poster as aforesaid; or

(c) distribute or cause to bedistributed any printed document for the said purpose, unless the bill,placard, poster or document bears upon the face thereof the name and address ofthe printer and publisher.

(4)Any person who at a lawful public meeting to which this subsection appliesacts, or incites others to act, in a disorderly manner or uses or aids or abetsthe use by any other person of a loud speaker or any other instrument for thepurpose of preventing the transaction of the business for which the meeting wascalled together is guilty of an offence against this Act.

(5)In this section-

(i)'electioneering' means the distribution or display of any circular orprinted matter, the offer of any suggestion, the solicitation of any support,or any speech, address or harangue, which is calculated or intended to pursuadeor induce any person to vote or refrain from voting for any candidate,political party or public question but does not include the mere wearing of anybadge, rosette or apparel bearing the image or name of a candidate or party;

(ii)any process for multiplying copies of a document, other than copying it byhand, shall be deemed to be printing, and the expression ~printer' shallbe construed accordingly;

(iii)subsection (4) applies to a meeting held with reference to an election in theconstituency for that election at any time on or after the day of thepublication of the notice of election for an election in the constituency andprior to the day on which the result of the election is declared.

(6)Where any police officer reasonably suspects any person of committing anoffence under this section, he may if requested so to do by the chairman of themeeting require that person to declare to him immediately his name and addressand, if that person on being requested to do so by the police officer refusesto give his name and address he may be arrested by the police constable.

(7)Any person who contravenes the provision of subsection (3) or who refuses togive his name and address when requested under subsection (6) or gives a falsename or address he shall be guilty of an offence against this Act.

(8)Any person who, or any director of any body corporate which, before or duringan election, for the purpose of effecting the return of any candidate at theelection, makes or publishes any false statement of fact in relation to thepersonal character or conduct of the candidate is guilty of an offence againstthis Act, unless he can show that he had reasonable grounds for believing, anddid believe, the statement to be true.

(9)A person making or publishing any false statements of fact as aforesaid may berestrained by interim or perpetual injunction by the Supreme Court from anyrepetition of that false statement or of a false statement of a similarcharacter in relation to the candidate and, for the purpose of granting an interiminjunction, prima facie proof of the falsity of the statement shall besufficient.

Depending on the nature of offence:

- fine not exceeding one thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term notexceeding three months or to both such fine and imprisonment and shall becomeincapable for a period of three years from the date of his conviction of being registeredas a voter or voting at an election under this Act or of being elected a Memberof Parliament, and if at that date he has been elected a Member of Parliamenthis seat shall be vacated from the date of such conviction;

- imprisonment for a term of one year or by afine of five thousand dollars or by both such fine and imprisonment;

- fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars and byimprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years or by both such fine andimprisonment.