Section 29Section 29

s. 29

29 [1] The Presiding Officer shall, subject to such instructions as the Commission may give in this behalf, regulate the number of electors to be admitted to the polling station at a time and exclude from the polling station all other persons except- (a) any person on duty in connection with the election; [(b) the contesting candidates and their election agents and one polling agent of each contesting candidate for each booth; [(bb) officers, persons, election observers and media personnel authorized by the Commission; and]] (c) such other persons as may be specifically permitted by the Returning Officer. [(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (1), no other individual including any candidate, agent of a candidate, leader or worker of any political party, or any influential person shall loiter unnecessarily within the polling station or within the boundary prescribed for the polling station. (3) If such person does so, the Presiding Officer and the members of the law enforcing agencies shall forthwith remove such person from the said area and may, if necessary, arrest them, and in such a case, the said person shall be punishable under Article 79.]

1. 113. The existing provision renumbered as (1) by section 18(a) of the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2026 (Act No. 03 of 2026). (with effect from 03 November, 2025)
2. 114. Clauses (b) and (bb) were substituted for previous clause (b) by section 10 of the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2001 (Act No. LVII of 2001)
3. 115. Sub-clause (bb) was substituted by section 18(a) of the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2026 (Act No. 03 of 2026). (with effect from 03 November, 2025)
4. 116. Clause (2) and (3) were added by section 18(b) of the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2026 (Act No. 03 of 2026). (with effect from 03 November, 2025)