At any time after the city manager plan has been in force in any city for a period of five years or more, the governing body of the city may submit at any regular election the question of whether or not such plan shall be retained. If a petition signed by forty percent or more of the qualified electors of the city, as shown by the votes cast for the executive officer at the preceding city election, requesting the submission of such question is filed with the city auditor, the governing body shall submit such proposal to the qualified electors of the city at an election to be held within ninety days after the filing of such petition. The signatures to such petition need not be appended to a single paper, but each single paper so used shall clearly state the purpose of the petition at the top of the paper, and each signature shall have been placed thereon not more than ninety days prior to the date on which the petition is filed in the office of the city auditor. Upon each paper one of the qualified electors signing such petition shall, under oath before an officer competent to administer oaths, swear that that person witnessed the signing of each signature appearing on such paper and that each signature appearing upon such paper is the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be. Each petition, in addition to the names of the signers, shall contain the name of the street and the number of the house in which each petitioner resides, the length of the petitioner’s residence in the state of North Dakota and in the city, and the date on which the petitioner signed the petition. Any petitioner shall be permitted to withdraw the petitioner’s name from a petition at any time prior to action by the governing body calling the election as provided herein. Such question shall not be submitted more than once in every five years. If a majority of the votes cast on the question at the election shall be against retaining the city manager plan, the city shall revert to the plan in force previous to the adoption of the city manager plan, and the provisions of this chapter shall not be applicable to such city except after another compliance with its terms. The governing body shall fix the date, not less than three months nor more than six months after an election at which the majority vote on the question is against the retention of the city manager plan, when such plan shall cease to be operative in the municipality.