Election of the barrio council.
Section 7
SEC. 7. Election of the barrio council.—The barrio lieutenant, the barrio treasurer, the vice barrio lieutenants, and the four council members shall be elected at a meeting of the barrio assembly. The election shall be held on the second Sunday of January of even-numbered years: Provided, That if the meeting is not held on the second Sunday of January, it may be held on any day thereafter within the month of January to be determined by the barrio council. The meeting shall be called by the barrio lieutenant who shall preside over the meeting. The Assembly shall elect a board of three election tellers, one of whom shall be a school teacher who shall act as the chairman, to conduct the election and count the votes. All members of the barrio assembly as denned in section four shall have the right to vote at such elections. Voting shall be by secret ballot: Provided, That open voting may be allowed if two-thirds votes of the qualified voters present in the meeting shall so decide. No votes may be cast by proxy. Those who obtain the highest number of votes for the position for which they are candidates shall be declared elected by the election tellers and shall assume office immediately by taking the oath of office before any person authorized to administer oaths. In case of a tie, the same shall be decided by drawing lots and the winner shall be proclaimed. All disputes as to procedure before the balloting shall be decided by the board of election tellers. All disputes over barrio elections shall be brought before the justice of the peace court of the municipality concerned; in the determination and decision thereof, the court shall follow as closely as possible the procedure prescribed for inferior courts in Rule 4, Rules of Court. The decision of the justice of the peace court shall be appealable pursuant to the Rules of Court to the court of first instance whose decision shall be final on questions of fact. The members of the barrio council shall hold office for two years from the time of their election and qualification or until their successors are duly elected and qualified. In no case shall a member of the council be elected to the same position for more than three consecutive terms, but after two years shall have elapsed from the expiration of his last term he shall again be eligible for election to the same position.