40.Sections 5 and 8 came into force on Royal Assent on 1 May 2002. The Electoral Fraud (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 (Commencement) Order 2002 brings into force all of the remaining provisions of the 2002 Act. Section 6 of the Act shall come into force on 1 July 2002, sections 1 and 7 shall come into force on 1 September 2002 and sections 2,3 and 4 shall come into force on 1 December 2002. The coming into force of the amendments made by section 3 of the Act shall not apply in respect of an election where the last day for the publication of the notice of election is before 1 December 2002.
| Date | Parliamentary Stage | Hansard Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 10 July 2001 | Commons Second Reading | Columns 688 - 743 |
| 16 October 2001 | Commons Committee First and Second Sittings | Columns 1 - 80 |
| 18 October 2001 | Commons Committee Third and Fourth Sittings | Columns 81 - 144 |
| 31 October 2001 | Commons Report and Third Reading | Columns 907 - 975 |
| 8 January 2002 | Lords Second Reading | Columns 445 – 468 |
| 4 February 2002 | Lords Committee | Columns 479 – 494 |
| 25 February 2002 | Lords Report | Columns 1254 – 1265 |
| 4 March 2002 | Lords Third Reading | Columns 11 - 16 |
| 15 April 2002 | Commons Consideration of Lords Amendments | Columns 380 - 413 |