Chapter 16
SPECIAL PROVISIONS, AMENDMENTS TO THE PROVISIONS
IN FORCE, TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 157
Whoever violates the provisions of Articles 136, 140, 141 or 145, or places election posters and slogans or installs announcing devices in contravention of the rules specified in Article 138,
- shall be subject to the penalty of a fine.
Article 158
1. Whoever fails to perform the duty of drawing up and publishing the financial report referred to in Article 154 or who gives untrue information in such report,
- shall be subject to a fine, the penalty of limitation of liberty, or deprivation of liberty for up to 2 years.
2. Whoever, being under an obligation to apply to publicly beneficial purposes the surplus of funds referred to in Article 156, fails to do so,
- shall be subject to a fine, the penalty of limitation of liberty, or deprivation of liberty for up to 2 years.
Article 159
The provisions on procedure in cases of misdemeanour shall be applicable to proceedings in matters referred to in Article 157.
Article 160
All written documentation, judicial and administrative proceedings in election matters shall be without payment.
Article 161
1. Whenever in this Act references are made to the expiry of a time-limit for lodging of a complaint or an appeal to a court or an electoral commission, this shall be understood as the day of filing the complaint or the appeal with the court or with the electoral commission.
2. If the day of the expiry of the time-limit for performance of the action specified in the Act falls on a day which is statutorily not a day of work, the time-limit shall expire on the first working day after that day.
Article 162
1. The National Electoral Commission which exists on the day on which this Act enters into force shall become the National Electoral Commission within the meaning of this Act.
2. The National Electoral Office and voivodship electoral offices existing on the day on which this Act enters into force shall become, respectively, the National Electoral Office and voivodship electoral offices within the meaning of this Act.
Article 163
1. Voivodship electoral offices shall also perform the duties prescribed under the Act of 8th March, 1990 - Law on Elections to Councils of Communes (Dziennik Ustaw, No. 16, item 96 and of 1991, No.53, item 227) - relating to conduct of elections to the councils of communes.
2. Regulations for the performance of duties referred to in para. 1 shall be established by the General Electoral Commissioner, acting in agreement with the Head of the National Electoral Office.
Article 164
In the Act of 8th March, 1990 - Law on Elections to Councils of Communes (Dziennik Ustaw, No. 16, item 96 and of 1991, No. 53, item 227) the following amendments shall be made:
1) in Article 24, paras. 1 and 2, in Article 25, paras. 1 and 2, in Article 30, in Article 38, paras. 2 and 3, in Article 61, paras. 1 and 2, in Article 62, para. 3, in Article 81, para. 2, in Article 94, in Article 102, para. 6, in Article 103, in Article 104, in Article 105 and in Article 110, para. 3, the terms "General Electoral Commissioner" used in various grammatical forms shall be replaced by the equivalent forms of "National Electoral Commission";
2) para. 3 of Article 17 shall read as follows: "3. Rolls of voters shall be drawn up on the basis of the register of voters in a commune, maintained pursuant to rules established by separate provisions.";
3) Article 18 shall read as follows: "Article 18. The National Electoral Commission, in agreement with the Minister of Internal Affairs, shall determine a specimen roll of voters, the procedure for its drawing up and updating.";
4) Article 23 shall read as follows: "Article 23. The elections shall be conducted by:
1) the National Electoral Commission established pursuant to separate provisions,
2) voivodship electoral commissioners,
3) territorial (communal, municipal) electoral commissions,
4) district electoral commissions.";
5) Article 28 shall be deleted;
6) Article 29 shall be deleted;
7) in Article 34, para. 3, the terms "General Electoral Commissioner" shall be replaced by "Members of the National Electoral Commission";
8) in Article 36, the terms "General Electoral Commissioner" and a comma shall be deleted, and the term "voivodship" shall be replaced by "Voivodship".
9) Article 37 shall read as follows: "Article 37. 1. Services for the National Electoral Commission and for voivodship electoral commissioners shall be ensured respectively by the National Electoral Office and voivodship electoral offices established on the basis of separate provisions.
2. Services and technical and material maintenance of work of territorial and district electoral commission shall be ensured, as a duty ascribed to the commune, by head of the commune or mayor (president of town)."
10) Article 38, para. 1 shall read as follows: "1. The National Electoral Commission shall establish its own regulations and it shall determine the mode of work of voivodship electoral commissioners.";
11) in Article 39, para. 1, the words "General Electoral Commissioner and" shall be deleted.
Article 165
In the Act of 27th September 1990 on Elections to the Presidency of the Republic of Poland (Dziennik Ustaw, No. 67, item 398 and No. 79, item 465) the following amendments shall be made:
1) Article 9 shall read as follows:
"Article 9. The elections shall be conducted by:
1) the National Electoral Commission established on the basis of separate provisions,
2) voivodship electoral commissions,
3) district electoral commissions.";
2) Article 14 shall be deleted,
3) in Article 16:
a) in para. 2, the second sentence shall read as follows:
"The rules, procedure and time-limits for setting-up of those commissions shall be established by the National Electoral Commission in agreement with the minister appropriate for marine economy affairs and the Minister of Foreign Affairs.";
b) in para. 3, the term "chairman" shall replaced by "chairman and his deputy", and the remaining words shall be deleted;
4) Article 20 shall read as follows:
"Article 20. The National Electoral Commission shall dissolve voivodship and district electoral commissions on completion of their statutory duties.";
5) Article 21 shall read as follows:
"Article 21. 1. Services for the National Electoral Commission and for voivodship electoral commissions shall be ensured respectively by the National Electoral Office and voivodship electoral offices established on the basis of separate provisions.
2. Services and technical and material assistance for the work of the district electoral commission shall be ensured, as a duty ascribed to the commune, by the head of commune, mayor (president of town).
3. The duties provided for in para. 2 shall concern, respectively, the captains of Polish ships and consuls.";
6) Article 27 shall read as follows:
"Article 27. 1. The roll shall be drawn up in 2 copies, separately for each polling district.
2. The roll referred to in para. 1 shall be delivered on the day before the election day to the chairman of the appropriate district electoral commission.";
7) Article 28 shall be deleted;
8) Article 29 shall read as follows:
"Article 29. The National Electoral Commission in agreement with the Minister of Internal Affairs shall establish a specimen roll of voters, the procedure for its creation and updating, a specimen notification concerning addition of a voter to the roll of voters of another polling district and a specimen certificate confirming the right to vote.";
9) in Article 35 para. 3 shall read as follows:
"3. The National Electoral Commission shall determine in agreement with the minister appropriate for marine economy affairs the procedure for creation of the roll referred to in para. 1.";
10) in Article 36 para. 3 shall read as follows:
"3. The National Electoral Commission shall determine in agreement with the Minister of Foreign Affairs the procedure for creation of the roll referred to in para. 1.";
11) Article 48 shall read as follows:
"The rules of creation of and procedure for delivery of ballot papers for the polling districts set up on Polish ships or abroad shall be established by the National Electoral Commission in agreement with, respectively, the minister appropriate for marine economy affairs and the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
12) in Article 66:
a) in para. 4, term "voivods" shall be replaced by " heads of voivodship electoral offices",
b) a para. 5, shall be added, to read as follows:
"5. The National Electoral Commission shall determine, in consultation with the Director General of the State Archives, the time-limit for retaining and the manner of delivery to the appropriate state archives of the documents on voting and elections, referred to in para. 4."
Article 166
1. In the first elections to the Sejm ordered under this Act, the participation in voting abroad of Polish citizens permanently living there, shall be permitted on the basis of a document allowing the issue of a Polish passport or on the basis of other documents proving the identity of those persons.
2. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, in agreement with the Minister of Internal Affairs, shall specify the types of documents referred to in para. 1, and also the manner of their verification by consuls.
Article 167
The Act of 28th June 1991 - on Elections to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Dziennik Ustaw, No. 59, item 252), with the exception of Article 168 point 2 - shall expire.
Article 168
This Act shall enter into force 14 days after its promulgation, except that:
1) Article 164 shall enter into force on 27th November, 1993, and on that day Article 163 shall expire;
2) The provisions of the Act of 28th June, 1991 - on Elections to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland shall be applicable to the changes in composition of the Sejm and Senate chosen in the elections held on 27th October, 1991.
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