Election of the barrio council.
Section 8
SEC. 8. Election of the barrio council.— On the second Sunday of January immediately following the regular elections for municipal and provincial officials, a regular election shall be held to elect a barrio lieutenant and six councilmen. In case of failure of election on the second Sunday of January, it may be held on any day within the month of January to be determined by the barrio council: Provided, That, if for any reason no election is held within the month of January, the provincial governor shall, upon resolution of the barrio council or written petition by at least fifty members of the barrio assembly, fix the date, of the election which shall not be beyond forty days from receipt of said resolution or petition. The same procedure shall be followed with regard to election of officials of newly-created barrios. Those who obtain the highest number of votes for the position for which they are candidates shall be declared elected by the election tellers who have been appointed by the provincial governor for the purpose of conducting the election in the newly-created barrio. In case of a tie, the same shall be decided by drawing lots immediately after the counting of votes and the winner shall be declared elected. The officials elected shall assume office immediately by taking oath before any person authorized to administer oaths and shall hold office for four years or until their successors shall have been elected and qualified. Not later than the last Sunday of December of the year immediately preceding the elections, the barrio council shall elect a board of three election tellers, one of whom shall be a public school teacher, who shall be the chairman to conduct the election, count the votes, and proclaim the winners. The barrio council shall also designate the polling place and date of election. Immediately thereafter, it shall cause the publication of the date and place of election and the office to be filled. Not later than the first Sunday of January of the election year in accordance with this section, there shall be a registration of new voters to be conducted by the board of tellers. Any voter may challenge the qualifications of any person seeking to register and said challenge shall be heard and decided on the same day by the board of tellers. Voting shall be by secret ballot. It shall be held in the place designated by the Barrio Council. Voting shall start from seven o'clock in the morning up to six o'clock in the afternoon, except when there are still voters within thirty meters of the polling place, in which case they shall be allowed to vote. The voters shall have the right to vote in the order of their entrance to the polling place, identifying themselves to the board of election tellers, who will check their names against the certified list of voters furnished by the barrio secretary. Each candidate shall be allowed to appoint one watcher each, who, upon presentation of his appointment signed by the candidate concerned to the board of election tellers, may be allowed inside the polling place during the election proceedings. Any voter or watcher may challenge a voter. No person shall be allowed to enter the voting booths, except the voters actually voting. Candidates shall file their certificates of candidacy with the barrio secretary, not later than the first Sunday of January of the election year. Any five registered voters may also file the certificates of candidacy of any qualified person. Any vote in favor of a person who has not filed a certificate of candidacy or in favor of a candidate for an office for which he did not present himself, shall be void and counted as a stray vote but shall not invalidate the whole ballot. All disputes as to procedure before and during 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; And 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.