Section 1: In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-

“ballot paper” means the printed form used for the purpose of voting for a candidate; “candidate” includes a person nominated for election as President of Sierra Leone, ordinary member of Parliament, Paramount Chief Member of Parliament or as member of a local council; “constituency” means a constituency prescribed under subsection (1) of section 38 of the Constitution; “Constitution” means the Constitution of Sierra Leone, 1991; “dangerous weapon or missile” includes any cannon, gun, rifle, carbine, revolver, pistol or any other firearm, bow and arrow, spear, cutlass, knife, dagger, axe, cudgel, or any other thing capable of being used as an offensive weapon or missile, including teargas, acid, and any inflammable substance capable of injuring a person; “district” means a district established under the Provinces Act; “election” means any election for the President of Sierra Leone, Parliament or a local council; “election material” includes ballot boxes, ballot papers, counterfoils, envelopes, packets, statements and other documents used in connection with voting in an election, information technology equipment, instruments, seals and other materials and things required for the purpose of conducting a public ”election period” means the period between the commencement of the election, which is the date of the proclamation of the election, and the ending of the election, which is the date the Electoral Commission receives the results of the election for publication in the Gazette; “electoral area” means a district, ward, or other electoral area into which Sierra Leone is divided; “Electoral Commission” means the Electoral Commission referred to in section 32 of the Constitution; “Electoral Commissioner” means a member of the Commission; “Executive Secretary” means the person appointed Executive Secretary under section 9; “field registrar” means a person appointed as such under section 29; “Gazette List” means the latest list of a Chiefdom Council appearing in the Gazette prior to an election; “general election” means a general election for Members of Parliament; “National Returning Officer” means the person responsible for thr supervision of elections conducted under this Act; “nomination paper” means the printed form used for the purpose of nominating a presidential candidate or other candidate for election under this Act; “non-citizen” means a person who is not a citizen of Sierra Leone; “observer” means a person or group of persons representing an organization whether national or international accredited by the Electoral Commission for the purpose of observing any or all aspects of the electoral process including voter registration, nomination for election, campaigning, polling, 2 3 Act No. 6 of 1991. Cap. 60 counting and the announcement of results, conducted by the Electoral Commission, without interference in the process; “official mark” means an official secret mark (if any), prescribed by the Electoral Commission impressed upon a ballot paper before delivery to a voter at an “ordinary residence” in relation to a person means the home or place where the person normally resides and to which the person returns regularly after any period of temporary absence; “Paramount Chief” means a chief who is not subordinate in his ordinary jurisdiction to any other chief but does not include an acting chief or a regent chief; “Paramount Chief Member” means a member of Parliament referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 74 of the Constitution; “political party” means an association of persons registered as a political party under the Political Parties Act, 2002; “polling assistant” means a person appointed as such under section 50 or 70; “polling station” means a polling station provided under this Act; “presidential candidate” means a person standing as a candidate in a presidential election; “presidential election” means an election to choose a person to the office of President of the Republic of Sierra Leone; “Presiding Officer” means a person appointed as such under section 50 or 70 and includes an Assistant Presiding Officer; “public election” means election of the President, Members of Parliament or members of local councils; “Register of Voters” means the register referred to in section 12; “registration area” means an area prescribed by the Electoral Commission within a ward or a Chiefdom for the purposes of voter registration under this Act; “Registration Officer” means a person appointed as such under section 20 and includes an Assistant Registration Officer appointed under section 21; “Revising Officer” means a person appointed as such under section 20; “voter” means a person whose name is on a register of voters prepared in accordance with this Act or, in the case of the election for a Paramount Chief member, a person whose name is on the Gazette List; “ward” means one of the areas into which Sierra Leone is divided for the purposes of registration and includes such Chiefdoms designated as wards by the Commission. PART II–ESTABLISHMENT OF ELECTORAL COMMISSION