ART. 4. Paragraph 3 of Art. I of the constitutional law of July 16, 1875, on the Relation of the Public Powers, is repealed.

ORGANIC LAW ON THE ELECTION OF SENATORS

(August 2, 1875)

ARTICLE I. A decree of the President of the Republic, issued at least six weeks in advance, shall fix the day for the elections to the Senate, and at the same time that for the choice of delegates of the municipal councils. There shall be an interval of at least one month between the choice of delegates and the election of senators.

ART. 2. Each municipal council shall elect one delegate. The election shall be without debate, by secret ballot, and by an absolute majority of votes. After two ballots a plurality shall be sufficient, and in case of an equality of votes, the oldest is elected. If the mayor is not a member of the municipal council, he shall preside, but shall not vote.

On the same day and in the same manner an alternate shall be elected, who shall take the place of the delegate in case of refusal or inability to serve.1

The choice of the municipal councils shall not extend to a deputy, a general councilor, or an arrondissement councilor. All communal electors, including the municipal councilors, shall be eligible without distinction.

ART. 3. In the communes where a municipal committee exists, the delegate and alternate shall be chosen by the former council.1

ART. 4. If the delegate were not present at the election, the mayor shall see to it that he is notified within twenty-four hours. He shall transmit to the prefect, within five days, notice of his acceptance. In case of refusal or silence, he shall

1 Amended by Art. 8 of law of December 9, 1884; see p. 313. The amendments of Arts. 4 and 5 merely substitute "delegates" and "alternates" for "delegate" and "alternate."

be replaced by the alternate, who shall then be placed upon the list as the delegate of the commune.1

ART. 5. The official report of the election of the delegate and alternate shall be transmitted at once to the prefect; it shall state the acceptance or refusal of the delegates and alternates, as well as the protests raised, by one or more members of the municipal council, against the legality of the election. A copy of this official report shall be posted on the door of the town hall.1

ART. 6. A statement of the results of the election of delegates and alternates shall be drawn up within a week by the prefect; this statement shall be given to all requesting it, and may be copied and published.

Every elector may, at the bureaux of the prefecture, obtain information and a copy of the list, by communes, of the municipal councilors of the department, and, at the bureaux of the subprefectures, a copy of the list, by communes, of the municipal councilors of the arrondissement.

ART. 7. Every communal elector may, within the next three days, address directly to the prefect a protest against the legality of the election.

If the prefect deems the proceedings illegal, he may request that they be set aside.

ART. 8. Protests concerning the election of the delegate or alternate shall be decided, subject to an appeal to the Council of State, by the council of the prefecture, and, in the colonies, by the privy council.

A delegate whose election is annulled because he does not fulfil the conditions demanded by law, or on account of informality, shall be replaced by the alternate.

In case the election of the delegate and alternate is annulled or in the case of the refusal or death of both of them after

1 Amended by Art. 8 of law of December 9, 1884; see p. 313. The amendments of Arts. 4 and 5 merely substitute "delegates" and "alternates" for "delegate" and "alternate."

their acceptance, new elections shall be held by the municipal council on a day fixed by an order of the prefect.2

A ART. 9. One week, at the latest, before the election of senators, the prefect, and, in the colonies, the director of the interior, shall arrange the list of the electors of the department in alphabetical order. The list shall be communicated to all who request it, and may be copied and published. No elector shall have more than one vote.

ART. IO. The deputies, the members of the general council, or of the arrondissement councils, whose elections have been announced by the returning committees, but whose powers have not been verified, shall be enrolled upon the list of electors and shall be allowed to vote.

ART. II. In each of the three departments of Algeria the electoral college shall be composed:

1) of the deputies;

2) of the members of the general councils, of French citizenship;

3) of delegates elected by the French members of each municipal council from among the communal electors of French citizenship.

ART. 12. The electoral college shall be presided over by the president of the civil tribunal of the seat of government of the department or colony. [In the department of Ardennes it shall be presided over by the president of the tribunal of Charleville.3] The president shall be assisted by the two oldest and the two youngest electors present at the opening of the meeting. The bureau thus constituted shall choose a secretary from among the electors.

If the president is prevented from presiding his place shall be taken by the vice-president of the civil tribunal, and, in his absence, by the oldest judge.

2 Amended by Art. 8, law of December 9, 1884; see p. 313. The amendment to this article merely substitutes "delegates" and "alternates" for "delegate" and "alternate."

3 This clause was inserted by law of February 1, 1898.

ART. 13. The bureau shall divide the electors in alphabetical order into sections of at least one hundred voters each. It shall appoint the president and inspectors of each of these sections. It shall decide all questions and contests which may arise in the course of the election, without power, however, to depart from the decisions rendered by virtue of Art. 8 of the present law.

ART. 14. The first ballot shall begin at eight o'clock in the morning and close at noon. The second shall begin at two o'clock and close at four o'clock. The third, if it takes place, shall begin at six o'clock and close at eight o'clock. The results of the ballotings shall be canvassed by the bureau and announced on the same day by the president of the electoral college.4

ART. 15. No one shall be elected senator on either of the first two ballots unless he receives: (1) an absolute г majority of the votes cast; and (2) a number of votes equal to one-fourth of the total number of electors registered. On the third ballot a plurality shall be sufficient, and, in case of an equality of votes, the oldest is elected.

ART. 16. Political meetings for the nomination of senators may take place conformably to the rules laid down by the law of June 6, 1868,5 subject to the following conditions:

1) These meetings may be held from the date of the election of delegates up to the day of the election of senators inclusive;

2) They shall be preceded by a declaration made, at the latest, the evening before, by seven senatorial electors of the arrondissement, indicating the place, the day, and the hour of the meeting and the names, occupation, and residence of the candidates to be presented;

3) The municipal authorities shall see to it that no one is

Amended by Art. 8, law of December 9, 1884; see p. 315.

The law of June 6, 1868, was superseded by a law of June 30, 1881.

admitted to the meeting unless he is a deputy, general councilor, arrondissement councilor, delegate, or candidate.

The delegate shall present, as a means of identification, a certificate from the mayor of his commune, the candidate a certificate from the official who shall have received the declaration mentioned in the preceding paragraph.®

ART. 17. Delegates who take part in all the ballotings shall, if they demand it, receive from the state, upon the presentation of their letter of summons, countersigned by the president of the electoral college, a remuneration for traveling expenses, which shall be paid to them upon the same basis and in the same manner as that given to jurors by Arts. 35, 90, and following, of the decree of June 18, 1811.

A public administrative regulation shall determine the manner of fixing the amount and the method of payment of this remuneration.

ART. 18. Every delegate who, without lawful reason, shall not take part in all the ballotings, or having been hindered, shall not have given notice to the alternate in sufficient time, shall, upon the demand of the public prosecutor, be fined fifty francs by the civil tribunal of the seat of government.

The same penalty may be imposed upon the alternate who, after having been notified by letter, telegram, or notice personally delivered in due time, shall not have taken part in. the election.

ART. 19. Every attempt at corruption by the employment of means enumerated in Arts. 177 and following, of the Penal Code, to influence the vote of an elector, or to keep him from voting, shall be punished by imprisonment of from three months to two years, and by a fine of from fifty to five hundred francs, or by either of these penalties.

Art. 463 of the Penal Code shall apply to the penalties imposed by the present article.

Amended by Art. 8, law of December 9, 1884; see p. 315.

Amended by Art. 8, law of December 9, 1884; see p. 316.