9Applications under section 6 or 8
(1)Subject to subsection (3), an application by a party under section 6 or 8 must be signed by its responsible officers.
(2)For the purposes of this section “the responsible officers” are—
(a)the registered leader;
(b)the registered nominating officer;
(c)where the leader and the nominating officer are the same person, the other registered officer.
(3)If any responsible officer is unable to sign an application—
(a)the holder of some other office in the party may sign in his place, and
(b)the application must include a statement of the reason why the responsible officer is unable to sign and a declaration that the holder of the other office is authorised to sign in his place.