The Scottish Local Elections Amendment (No.2) Rules 1999

Citation commencement and extent

1.—(1) These Rules may be cited as the Scottish Local Elections Amendment (No.2) Rules 1999.

(2) Rules 1 to 3 of these Rules shall come into force on 24th March 1999 except for the purposes of any election the notice of which is published before that date.

(3) Rule 4 of these Rules shall come into force on 24th March 1999.

(4) These Rules shall extend to Scotland only.

Application

2.  Rule 3(8)(b) shall not apply in any case in which the poll at a local government election is taken with the poll at a Scottish Parliamentary election under article 13 of the Scottish Parliament (Elections etc.) Order 1999(1).

Amendment of the Scottish Local Elections Rules 1986

3.—(1) The rules in Schedule 2 to the Scottish Local Elections Rules 1986(2) shall be amended as follows.

(2) After rule 4 there shall be inserted the following rule:–

“Nomination papers: name of registered political party

4A.— (1) A nomination paper may not include a description of a candidate which is likely to lead voters to associate the candidate with a registered political party unless the description is authorised by a certificate–

(a) issued by or on behalf of the registered nominating officer of the party, and

(b) received by the returning officer at some time during the period for delivery of nomination papers set out in the Table in rule 1.

(2) A person shall be guilty of a corrupt practice if he fraudulently purports to be authorised to issue a certificate under paragraph (1) on behalf of a registered political party’s nominating officer.

(3) In the application of this rule in relation to an election “registered political party” means a party which was registered under the Registration of Political Parties Act 1998(3) at the time by which the notice of election is required to be published by virtue of rule 1.”.

(3) At the beginning of rule 7(3) there shall be inserted the words “Subject to paragraph (3A)”.

(4) After rule 7(3) there shall be inserted the following rule:–

“(3A) If in the returning officer’s opinion a nomination paper breaks rule 4A(1), he shall give a decision to that effect as soon as practicable after the last time for the delivery of nomination papers set out in the Table in rule 1.”.

(5) In rule 7(4) for the words “Where he” there shall be substituted the words “Where the returning officer”.

(6) After rule 13(2) there shall be inserted the following rule:–

“(2A) If a candidate who is the subject of a party’s authorisation under rule 4A(1) so requests, the ballot paper shall contain, against the candidate’s particulars, the party’s registered emblem (or, as the case may be, one of the party’s registered emblems).

(2B) The request must–

(a) be made in writing to the returning officer, and

(b) be received by him before the last time for the delivery of nomination papers set out in the Table in rule 1.”.

(7) In the Appendix of Forms, for the form of the front of the ballot paper there shall be substituted the form set out in the Schedule to these Rules.

(8) In the Directions as to printing the ballot paper in the Appendix of Forms–

(a) in paragraph 2(a) for the words “and the particulars of the candidates” substitute the words “, the particulars of the candidates and words forming part of emblems”, and

(b) after paragraph 3 there shall be added:–

“3A.   Where an emblem is to be printed against a candidate’s particulars–

(a) it shall be printed between the candidate’s particulars and the vertical rule separating the candidate’s particulars from the spaces where the vote is to be marked, and

(b) its size as printed shall not exceed two centimetres square.”.

Revocation

4.  The Scottish Local Election Amendment Rules 1999 are hereby revoked(4).

Helen Liddell

Minister of State

St Andrew’s House,

Edinburgh

1st March 1999