PART IGENERAL, INTERPRETATION AND MISCELLANEOUS

Registration of European Parliamentary overseas electors13.

(1)

A peer who, apart from the requirement of registration, is entitled by virtue of section 3 of the 1985 Act8 to vote as an elector at a European Parliamentary election in a particular electoral region is entitled to be registered in a register under section 3 of that Act, prepared and published by a registration officer in accordance with this regulation and the provisions applied by it.

(2)

It is the duty of the relevant registration officer appointed under section 8 of the 1983 Act9 to prepare and publish a register under section 3 of the 1985 Act (which under subsection (7) of that section shall so far as practicable be combined with the register of parliamentary and local government electors) in respect of any year for which any peer to whom paragraph (1) above applies is entitled to be registered and to take reasonable steps to obtain information required by him for that purpose.

(3)

For the purposes of paragraph (2) above, “the relevant registration officer” is the officer who acts for the area within which is situated the place specified in the declaration in accordance with section 2(4) of the 1985 Act, as applied by this regulation, as having been the address in respect of which the declarant was previously registered or, as the case may be, at which he was resident.

(4)

The provisions of the 1983 Act and the 1985 Act which are set out in column 1 of Schedule 4 to these Regulations shall, subject to—

(a)

any modifications and exceptions specified in relation to those provisions in column 2 of that Schedule, and

(b)

paragraph (5) below,

apply for the purposes of the registration of peers who (subject to the requirement of registration) are entitled to vote at a European Parliamentary election as they apply for the purpose of the registration of parliamentary electors.

(5)

Unless the context otherwise requires, in the provisions applied by Schedule 4 to these Regulations—

(a)

any reference to an overseas elector’s declaration shall be construed as a reference to a European Parliamentary overseas elector’s declaration;

(b)

any reference to a constituency shall be construed as a reference to an electoral region;

(c)

any reference to a register of parliamentary electors shall be construed as a reference to a register kept under section 3 of the 1985 Act and any reference to the register of local government electors shall be disregarded; and

(d)

any reference to a provision which is also applied by Schedule 4 to these Regulations shall be construed as a reference to such a provision as so applied.

(6)

The following provisions, namely—

(a)

regulations 3, 5 to 8 and 11 above, and

(b)

regulations 18 to 25, 27 to 32, 36(2), 38 to 43 and 45 below,

shall apply to a European Parliamentary overseas elector’s declaration and registration in pursuance of it as they apply to an overseas elector’s declaration and registration in pursuance of it.

(7)

For the purposes set out in paragraph (6) above, those regulations shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have effect as if—

(a)

any reference to a parliamentary elector is a reference to a peer entitled to vote at a European Parliamentary election under section 3 of the 1985 Act;

(b)

any reference to an overseas elector is a reference to a European Parliamentary overseas elector;

(c)

any reference to an overseas elector’s declaration is a reference to a European Parliamentary overseas elector’s declaration; and

(d)

any reference to a provision which is applied by Schedule 4 to these Regulations is a reference to that provision as so applied.

(8)

A register under section 3 of the 1985 Act may be published by means of a notice making additions to the registers of parliamentary electors and of local government electors with which it must be combined.