The European Parliamentary Elections Regulations 2004

PART 2 STAGES COMMON TO CONTESTED AND UNCONTESTED ELECTIONS

Notice of election

3.—(1) The returning officer shall publish notice of the election, stating—

(a) the place and times at which nomination papers are to be delivered, and

(b) the date of the poll in the event of a contest.

(2) The notice of election shall state the date by which (except in such circumstances as are provided for in paragraph 19 of Schedule 2)—

(a) applications to vote by post or by proxy, and

(b) other applications and notices about postal or proxy voting,

must reach the registration officer in order that they may be effective for the election.

(3) The returning officer shall send a copy of the notice to the local returning officer for each local counting area wholly or partly contained in the electoral region; and each local returning officer shall publish the copy of the notice at a place within the area in which he acts.

Nomination of individual candidates

4.—(1) Each individual candidate shall be nominated by a separate nomination paper, which is signed and delivered by the individual candidate himself or a person authorised in writing by him.

(2) The nomination paper shall state the individual candidate's—

(a) full names,

(b) home address in full, and

(c) if desired, description,

and the surname shall be placed first in the list of his names.

(3) The description, if any, must consist of either—

(a) in the case of an individual candidate standing on behalf of a registered party at a by-election, a description (of not more than 6 words in length) which is authorised as mentioned in rule 5(1); or

(b) the word “Independent”.

(4) Where a nomination paper is delivered in respect of the same person after an earlier paper in respect of that person has been delivered, that later paper shall be deemed to supersede the earlier one.

Nomination papers: name of registered political party at a by-election

5.—(1) A nomination paper may not include a description of an individual candidate which is likely to lead voters to associate the candidate with a registered political party unless—

(a) the individual candidate is standing on behalf of a registered party at a by-election;

(b) the party is a qualifying party in relation to the electoral region; and

(c) the description in question is authorised by a certificate—

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

(ii) 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) For the purposes of the application of this rule in relation to an election—

(a) “registered political party” means a party which was registered under Part 2 of the 2000 Act at the time by which the notice of the election is required to be published by virtue of rule 1 (“the relevant time”);

(b) a registered political party is a qualifying party in relation to an electoral region if the region is in England (including the combined region) or is Wales or Scotland and the party was at the relevant time registered in respect of that part of Great Britain in the Great Britain register maintained under that Part of that Act.

Nomination papers: name of registered political party at a general election

6.—(1) A registered party which is to stand for election in the electoral region shall be nominated by a nomination paper delivered, to the returning officer at the place which he has fixed for the purpose, by the party’s nominating officer or a person authorised in writing by him.

(2) The nomination paper shall state the name by which the registered party is to stand for election; and that name need not be the party’s registered name but must not be such as would be likely to lead voters to associate that party with another registered party.

(3) That name shall not exceed 6 words in length.

(4) The nomination paper shall be accompanied by a list of candidates which complies with rule 7.

(5) The nomination paper shall include a statement that the party is nominated by or on behalf of the nominating officer of the registered party in question and shall be signed by the person making it.

(6) Where a nomination paper and list of candidates are delivered in respect of the same registered party after an earlier paper and list have been so delivered, that later paper and list shall be deemed to supersede the earlier ones.

(7) A person shall be guilty of a corrupt practice if he fraudulently purports to be authorised to make the statement required by paragraph (5) on behalf of a registered party’s nominating officer.

(8) In the application of this rule in relation to an election “registered party” means a party which was registered under Part 2 of the 2000 Act at the time by which the notice of election is required to be published.

List of candidates

7.—(1) The number of candidates in the list of a registered party’s candidates which must accompany its nomination paper shall not exceed the number of MEPs to be elected in the electoral region at the election.

(2) The list shall set out the full names and home addresses in full of each candidate.

Consent to nomination

8.—(1) A person shall not be validly nominated as an individual candidate or a candidate on a registered party’s list unless his consent to nomination—

(a) is given in writing on or within one month before the day fixed as the last day for the delivery of nomination papers,

(b) is attested by one witness,

(c) in the case of a candidate on a registered party’s list, identifies the party in question, and

(d) is delivered at the place and within the time for the delivery of nomination papers, subject to paragraph (2).

(2) If the returning officer is satisfied that owing to the absence of a person from the United Kingdom or Gibraltar (as the case may be) it has not been reasonably practicable for his consent in writing to be given as mentioned above, a telegram (or any similar means of communication) consenting to his nomination and purporting to have been sent by him shall be deemed for the purposes of this rule to be consent in writing given by him on the day on which it purports to have been sent, and attestation of his consent shall not be required.

(3) A candidate’s consent given under this rule—

(a) shall state the day, month and year of his birth; and

(b) shall state—

(i) that he is aware of the provisions of section 10 of the European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002; and

(ii) that to the best of his knowledge and belief he is not disqualified for membership of the office of MEP.

Candidature by relevant citizen of the Union

9.—(1) Where the candidate is a relevant citizen of the Union, he shall not be validly nominated as an individual candidate or as a candidate on a registered party’s list, unless a declaration under paragraph (2) and a certificate under paragraph (3) are delivered at the place and within the time for the delivery of nomination papers.

(2) The declaration referred to in paragraph (1) must be made by or on behalf of the candidate and state, in addition to his name:

(a) his nationality;

(b) his home address in the United Kingdom or Gibraltar in full;

(c) that he is not standing as a candidate for election to the European Parliament in any other Member State at elections held in the same period; and

(d) where his name has been entered in a register of electors in a locality or constituency in the Member State of which he is a national, the name of the locality or constituency where, so far as he knows, his name was last entered.

(3) The certificate referred to in paragraph (1) must be made by the competent administrative authorities in the Member State of which the candidate is a national stating either that he has not been deprived of his right to stand as a candidate in that State or that no such disqualification is known to those authorities.

(4) As soon as practicable after publication of the statement of parties and individual candidates nominated, the returning officer shall send to the Secretary of State a copy of the declaration made under paragraph (2) by any candidate who stands nominated either by virtue of the list of candidates which accompanied a registered party’s nomination or as an individual candidate.

(5) In this rule “locality or constituency” and “competent administrative authorities” have the same meaning as they have in the directive of the Council of the European Communities No. 93/109/EC(1).

Deposit

10.—(1) A person shall not be validly nominated as an individual candidate unless the sum of £5,000 is deposited by him or on his behalf with the returning officer at the place and during the time for delivery of nomination papers.

(2) A registered party shall not be validly nominated unless the sum of £5,000 is deposited on its behalf with the returning officer at the place and during the time for the delivery of nomination papers.

(3) The deposit may be made either—

(a) by the deposit of any legal tender, or

(b) by means of a banker’s draft, or

(c) with the returning officer’s consent, in any other manner,

but the returning officer may refuse to accept a deposit sought to be made by means of a banker’s draft if he does not know that the drawer carries on business as a banker in the United Kingdom.

(4) Where the deposit is made on behalf of the registered party or individual candidate, the person making the deposit shall at the time he makes it give his name and address to the returning officer (unless they have previously been given to him under regulation 33, 34 or 38 of these Regulations).

Place for delivery of nomination papers

11.  The returning officer shall fix the place in the electoral region at which nomination papers are to be delivered to him, and shall attend there during the time for their delivery and for the making of objections to them.

Right to attend nomination

12.—(1) Except for the purpose of delivering a nomination paper or of assisting the returning officer, no person is entitled to attend the proceedings during the time for delivery of nomination papers or for making objections to them unless he is—

(a) a person standing nominated as an individual candidate or included in a list under rule 7,

(b) the election agent of a registered party which has submitted a nomination or of an individual candidate, or

(c) a person authorised in writing to deliver a nomination paper.

(2) The right to attend conferred by this rule includes the right—

(a) to inspect, and

(b) to object to the validity of,

any nomination paper or list of candidates.

Decisions as to validity of nomination papers

13.—(1) Where, in the case of an individual candidate, a nomination paper and the candidate’s consent to it (and, where required, a declaration and certificate under rule 9(2) and (3)) are delivered and a deposit is made in accordance with these rules, the candidate shall be deemed to stand nominated unless and until—

(a) the returning officer decides that the nomination paper is invalid; or

(b) proof is given to the returning officer’s satisfaction of the candidate’s death; or

(c) the candidate withdraws.

(2) Where, in the case of a registered party, a nomination paper and list under rule 7 are delivered and a deposit is made in accordance with these rules, the party and (subject to paragraph (5)) the candidates on its list shall be deemed to stand nominated unless and until the returning officer determines that the nomination paper or list is invalid.

(3) The returning officer is entitled to hold a nomination paper of an individual candidate invalid only on one of the following grounds—

(a) that the particulars of the candidate are not as required by law;

(b) that the candidate is disqualified by the Representation of the People Act 1981 (which applies in respect of the office of MEP by virtue of section 10(1)(a) of the 2002 Act(2)) or any corresponding provision in respect of detained offenders in Gibraltar made under section 10(4A) of the 2002 Act(3).

(4) The returning officer is entitled to hold a nomination paper of a registered party, together with the list of candidates accompanying it, invalid only on one of the following grounds—

(a) that the contents of the nomination paper are not as required by law; and;

(b) that the number of candidates in the list breaches rule 7(1).

(5) Where—

(a) the particulars of any candidate in the list of candidates accompanying the nomination paper of a political party are not as required by law;

(b) the consent to nomination of any such candidate is not delivered in accordance with these rules, or

(c) any such candidate is a relevant citizen of the Union and a declaration and certificate under paragraphs (2) and (3) of rule 9 have not been delivered in accordance with that rule,

the returning officer shall delete the name and address of that candidate from the list.

(6) The returning officer shall give his decision on any objection to a nomination paper as soon as practicable after it is made.

(7) Where the returning officer decides that a nomination paper is invalid, he shall endorse and sign on the paper the fact and the reasons for his decision.

(8) Where the returning officer deletes any name from the list of candidates of a registered party, he must endorse on the nomination paper the fact and the reasons for his decision to do so and sign the paper.

(9) The returning officer’s decision that a nomination paper and, where applicable, its accompanying list, is valid shall be final and shall not be questioned in any proceeding whatsoever.

(10) Subject to paragraph (9) nothing in this rule prevents the validity of a nomination being questioned on a European Parliamentary election petition.

Withdrawal of candidates

14.—(1) An individual candidate may withdraw his candidature by notice of withdrawal—

(a) signed by him and attested by one witness, and

(b) delivered to the returning officer at the place for delivery of nomination papers.

(2) The nominating officer of a registered party or a person authorised in writing by him may withdraw that party’s nomination by a notice of withdrawal signed by him and delivered to the returning officer at the place for delivery of nomination papers.

Publication of statement of persons nominated

15.—(1) The returning officer shall prepare and publish a statement (“the statement of parties and individual candidates nominated”) showing—

(a) the registered parties which have been and stand nominated, together with the list of persons who stand as candidates of those parties;

(b) the persons who have been and stand nominated as individual candidates; and,

(c) any other persons who have been nominated (whether on a list of a registered party or as individual candidates) together with the reason why they no longer stand nominated.

(2) The statement shall show the registered parties which have been and stand nominated in alphabetical order, with the names and home addresses of the candidates who appear on the list of each party as given in that list and arranged in the order in which their names appear on that list.

(3) The statement shall show the names, addresses and descriptions of the persons nominated as individual candidates as given in their nomination papers.

(4) The statement shall show the persons standing nominated as individual candidates after the names of the registered parties standing nominated and the names of those candidates shall be arranged alphabetically in order of their surnames, and, if there are two or more of them with the same surname, of their other names.

(5) The returning officer shall send to the Electoral Commission a copy of the statement.

Local publication of statement under rule 15

16.—(1) Immediately following publication of the statement of parties and individual candidates nominated, the returning officer shall forward a copy of it to the local returning officer for each local counting area wholly or partly contained in the electoral region.

(2) As soon as practicable after receipt of the copy of the statement, each local returning officer shall publish it at a place within the area for which he acts.

Disqualification by Representation of the People Act 1981

17.—(1) If it appears to the returning officer that any of the persons nominated as an individual candidate might be disqualified by the Representation of the People Act 1981 (which applies in respect of the office of MEP by virtue of section 10(1)(a) of the 2002 Act) or any corresponding provision in respect of detained offenders in Gibraltar made under section 10(4A) of the 2002 Act he shall, as soon as practicable after the expiry of the time allowed for the delivery of nomination papers, prepare and publish a draft of the statement required under rule 15 but limited to persons standing as individual candidates only.

(2) The draft shall be headed “Draft statement of individual candidates nominated” but shall contain a notice stating that any person who wishes to object to the nomination of any individual candidate on the ground that he is disqualified for nomination under the Representation of the People Act 1981 or any corresponding provision in respect of detained offenders in Gibraltar made under section 10(4A) of the 2002 Act may do so between the hours of 10 in the morning and 4 in the afternoon on the day and at the place specified in the notice; and the day so specified shall be the day next after the last day for the delivery of nomination papers.

Adjournment of nomination proceedings in case of riot

18.—(1) Where the proceedings for or in connection with nomination are on any day interrupted or obstructed by riot or open violence—

(a) the proceedings shall be abandoned for that day, and

(b) if that day is the last day for the delivery of nomination papers, the proceedings shall be continued on the next day as if that were the last day of such delivery,

and that day shall be treated for the purposes of these rules as being the last day for such delivery (subject to any further application of this rule in the event of interruption or obstruction on that day).

(2) Where proceedings are abandoned by virtue of this rule nothing—

(a) may be done after they are continued if the time for doing it had passed at the time of the abandonment;

(b) done before the abandonment shall be invalidated by reason of the abandonment.

Method of election

19.—(1) If the statement of persons nominated shows more candidates than there are seats to be filled, a poll shall be taken in accordance with Part 3 of these rules.

(2) If the statement of persons nominated shows a number of candidates (whether on a registered party’s list or individual candidates) which is the same as, or less than, the number of seats to be filled, those candidates shall be declared to be elected in accordance with Part 4 of these rules.

(1)

O. J. L 043, 20.02.1993 p. 42.

(2)

Section 10 was amended by section 21(1)(a) of the European Parliament (Representation) Act 2003 (c. 7).

(3)

Subsection 4A was inserted by section 21(1)(b) of the European Parliament (Representation) Act 2003 (c. 7).