The National Assembly for Wales (Representation of the People) Order 2007

Right to send election address post free

65.—(1) At an Assembly election, each constituency or individual candidate or registered nominating officer of a registered political party which has submitted a list of candidates at such an election (subject to such reasonable terms and conditions as the universal service provider concerned may specify) is entitled to send free of any charge for postage which would otherwise be made by a universal service provider either—

(a) one unaddressed postal communication, containing matter relating to such election wholly and not exceeding 60 grammes in weight, to each place in the Assembly constituency or electoral region for which the election is being held at which he or they are a candidate or candidates which, in accordance with those terms and conditions, constitutes a delivery point for the purposes of this article; or

(b) one such postal communication addressed to each elector.

(2) Any such candidate or, as the case may be, registered nominating officer shall also, subject as mentioned in paragraph (1), be entitled to send free of any such charge for postage as is mentioned in that paragraph to each person entered in the list of proxies for the election one such communication as mentioned in paragraph (1) for each appointment in respect of which that person is so entered.

(3) Any such candidate or, as the case may be, registered nominating officer may require the returning officer to make arrangements with the universal service provider for communications under paragraph (1)(b) to be sent to persons who have anonymous entries in the register.

(4) Arrangements under paragraph (3) shall be such as to ensure that it is not disclosed to any other person that the addressee of such a communication has an anonymous entry.

(5) In relation to a candidate at a constituency election or to an individual candidate at a regional election, a person shall not be deemed to be a candidate for the purposes of this article unless he is shown as standing nominated in the statement of persons nominated; but, until the publication of that statement, any person who declares himself to be a candidate shall be entitled to exercise the right of free postage conferred by this article if he gives such security as may be required by the universal service provider concerned for the payment of postage should he not be shown as standing nominated as mentioned above.

(6) In relation to a registered political party at a regional election, such a party shall not be deemed to have submitted a list of candidates for the purposes of this article unless the party is shown as standing nominated in the statement of parties and other persons nominated; but, until the publication of that statement, the registered nominating officer of a party which has submitted a list of candidates shall be entitled to exercise the right of free postage conferred by this article if he gives such security as may be required by the universal service provider should the party not be shown as standing nominated as mentioned above.

(7) The regional returning officer shall be entitled to treat any purported exercise by the registered nominating officer of a registered political party of the right of free postage conferred by this article through the party election agent as a valid exercise of that right.

(8) If at a regional election the area of the regional returning officer is situated in the area of more than one official designated by a universal service provider, the controlling designated official shall be determined by that regional returning officer.

(9) A universal service provider who provides a postal service free of charge pursuant to this article shall be entitled to be remunerated for that service at the rate determined by or in accordance with a scheme made under section 89 of the Postal Services Act 2000(1) and the amount of such remuneration shall be paid by the Assembly.

(10) In respect of any Assembly election after the 2007 Assembly general election, the sums payable by the Welsh Ministers(2) under paragraph (9) shall be charged on the Welsh Consolidated Fund.

(11) For the purposes of this article “elector”—

(a) means a person who is registered in the register of electors for the Assembly constituency or electoral region on the last day for publication of notice of the election; and

(b) includes a person then shown in that register (or, in the case of a person who has an anonymous entry in the register, in the record of anonymous entries) as below voting age if (but only if) it appears from the register (or from the record) that he will be of voting age on the day fixed for the poll.

(1)

2000 c. 26

(2)

see the footnote to the definition of “the Assembly” in article 2(1) as to the vesting in the Welsh Ministers of the function of “the Assembly” under article 65(9).