(1)The Additional Secretary Department of Minority Welfare to Government shall be the Election Authority for the purposes of conduct of elections of members under clause (b) of sub-section (1) of Section 14 of the Act and he shall have powers of superintendence, direction and control of the conduct of election under these rules.(2)The Joint Secretary Department of Minority Welfare to Government shall be the Deputy Election Authority for purposes of conduct of elections under these rules.(3)Deputy Election Authority shall perform all or any of the functions of the Election Authority, subject to the control of the Election Authority.(4)The Election Authority shall appoint a Returning Officer who shall be responsible for the smooth conduct of elections under these rules:Provided that such Returning Officer shall be appointed from amongst persons holding a Gazetted post in the Government.(5)The Election Authority may appoint one or more persons from amongst officers of the Government as Assistant Returning Officers to assist the Returning Officer.(6)Every Assistant Returning Officer shall be competent to perform all or any of the functions of the Returning Officer subject to the control of the Returning Officer:Provided that the Assistant Returning Officer shall not perform any function of the Returning Officer which relates to the scrutiny of nominations unless the Returning Officer directs him so to perform.(7)Subject to other provisions of these rules, the Election Authority shall have power to perform the following functions, namely -(a)to fix date, place and time of election;(b)to notify the form of notice, nomination, letter of intimation, declaration paper, ballot paper, ballot paper cover and the envelope for the election, the form of any other record to be prepared or maintained in relation to an election and the instructions to be contained in the notification for the conduct of election;(c)to decide, in case of doubt, the validity or invalidity of each ballot paper of each vote recorded thereon;(d)to declare the result of each election; and(e)to fix -(i)the date of election;(ii)the last date for receipt of nomination;(iii)the date of scrutiny of nomination and publication of list of candidates validly nominated;(iv)the last date and hour for withdrawal of candidature;(v)the date of publication of the final list;(vi)the date and hour for poll;(vii)the date and hour of scrutiny and counting of votes.(8)The election under these rules shall be held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.
