83.— (1) The Government shall appoint to be a member of the board of each corporation one member of staff of the corporation elected to be a staff member of the board in accordance with this section.

(2) A member of the board of a corporation appointed under this section shall, subject to this section, be eligible for nomination as a candidate and for election at an election.

(3) An election shall be held as soon as practicable after the passing of this Act or such longer period as may be agreed between the corporation and recognised trade unions and staff associations.

(4) Subsections (5) to (16) apply for the purposes of an election.

(5) (a) The secretary of a corporation (or a person selected by him or her after consultation with representatives of recognised trade unions or staff associations) shall be the returning officer for each election of a staff member of the board of the corporation.

(b) The returning officer shall not be entitled to be nominated as, or to nominate, act as agent for or promote the interests of, a candidate at the election.

(c) The returning officer may authorise any person to exercise designated functions on his or her behalf and paragraph (b) applies to any such person.

(6) (a) A poll shall be conducted where there is more than one candidate.

(b) Voting shall be by secret ballot and on the basis of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote.

(c) Presiding officers at the poll and polling clerks shall be appointed by the returning officer.

(d) An election shall be held in accordance with arrangements made by the returning officer.

(e) The returning officer shall be required to give due notice of these arrangements to the electorate and to designate premises as an election office.

(7) (a) The returning officer shall fix the nomination day and give notice of the election not later than 4 weeks before that day.

(b) The nomination day shall be not earlier than 4 weeks after the day on which eligibility of voters and candidates is determined in accordance with subsections (13) and (14), respectively.

(8) The returning officer may declare a candidate elected if the number of candidates standing duly nominated does not exceed one.

(9) If the nomination of candidates or any poll is interrupted or cannot be proceeded with the returning officer may adjourn the nomination or poll for such period as he or she considers appropriate to enable him or her, on its expiration, to proceed with or complete the nomination or poll.

(10) On receipt of a notification from the returning officer of the name of the candidate elected or declared to be elected under subsection (8), the Government shall, in accordance with this section, appoint the candidate as a member of the board of the corporation.

(11) The returning officer shall place the remaining candidates in order of votes credited to each at the last count in which he or she was involved.

(12) A corporation shall bear the cost of holding an election except costs incurred by candidates on their own behalf.

(13) Every employee of a corporation who, on the day specified by the returning officer and on the day on which the poll is taken—

(a) is not less than 18 years of age, and

(b) has been an employee of the corporation for a continuous period of not less than one year,

shall be entitled to vote at an election.

(14) (a) Every employee of a corporation who, on the day specified by the returning officer under subsection (13), is not less than 18 years of age and has been an employee of the corporation for a continuous period of not less than 18 months, shall be eligible to be nominated as a candidate at the election.

(b) A candidate may be nominated by—

(i) a recognised trade union or staff association or jointly by 2 or more such bodies, or

(ii) a minimum of 20 eligible voters.

(c) Nominations shall be made in the manner specified by the returning officer.

(d) The returning officer shall rule on the validity of nominations and his or her decision shall be final.

(15) The returning officer shall prepare and maintain a list of eligible voters and candidates.

(16) The returning officer shall prepare and maintain a list of recognised trade unions and staff associations for the purposes of this section.

(17) In this section “election” means an election held under this section for the appointment of a staff member to be a staff member of the board of a corporation.