1 The Northern Ireland Assembly.
(1)
There shall be a Northern Ireland Assembly which shall consist of F290 members.
(2)
Those members shall be returned for the constituencies in Northern Ireland which would return members to the Parliament of the United Kingdom if a general election were held at the passing of this Act, and the number of members returned by each constituency shall be that specified for the constituency in the second column of the Schedule to this Act.
(3)
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(4)
The proceedings of the Assembly shall not be invalid because of any vacancy in their membership.
(5)
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(6)
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2 The election.
(1), (2)
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(3)
Each vote in the poll shall be single transferable vote, that is to say a vote—
(a)
capable of being given so as to indicate the voter’s order of preference for the candidates for election as members for the constituency, and
(b)
capable of being transferred to the next choice—
(i)
when the vote is not required to give a prior choice the necessary quota of votes, or
(ii)
when, owing to the deficiency in the number of votes given for a prior choice, that choice is eliminated from the list of candidates.
(4)
Every candidate at the election under this Act shall, in accordance with the provisions of an order under the following provisions of this section, make a deposit of £150, and the deposit shall be forfeited unless the candidate is elected, or the number of votes credited to him at any one or more of the stages of counting the votes exceeds a quarter of the quota needed to elect him.
(5)
The Secretary of State shall have power by order to make any provision concerning the election under this Act, or any matter relating to the election, and in particular provision concerning—
(a)
the intervals between the stages of the election,
(b)
the form of declaration to be made by a candidate, the contents of nomination papers, and the taking of the poll,
(c)
the method of voting, and the method of counting and transferring votes,
(d)
the procedure on the death of a candidate,
(e)
the questioning of elections, and
(f)
corrupt and illegal practices, and the disqualifications to be imposed, in any part of the United Kingdom, for a corrupt or illegal practice in the election under this Act.
(6)
An order made under subsection (5) above—
(a)
may include any supplemental or incidental provisions, including provisions creating criminal offences,
(b)
may apply, with any modifications or exceptions specified in the order, any of the provisions of the M1Electoral Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1962 or of any instrument made or having effect under that Act,
(c)
shall be contained in a statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
3 Disqualification for membership of Assembly.
(1)
F7(1A)
A person who is determined by the High Court to have acted in breach of the terms of a declaration against terrorism as defined in section 7 of the Elected Authorities (Northern Ireland) Act 1989 is disqualified for membership of the Assembly during the period of five years beginning with the date of the determination.
(2)
A person shall not be disqualified from being a member of the Assembly by reason only that he is peer, whether of the United Kingdom, Great Britain, England, Scotland or Ireland.
(3)
The Secretary of State shall have power by order to make provision—
(a)
for the consequences of a disqualification imposed F8by this section, or by the M3Northern Ireland Assembly Disqualification Act 1975, and
(b)
for the circumstances in which such a disqualification may be disregarded, and
(c)
for conferring jurisdiction to decide whether a disqualification has been imposed F8by this section, or by that Act.
(4)
An order made under subsection (3) above—
(a)
may include any supplemental or incidental provisions,
(b)
may apply, with any modifications or exceptions specified in the order, any of the provisions of section 6 or section 7 of the House of Commons Disqualification Act F61975,
(c)
shall be contained in a statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
4 Financial provisions.
(1)
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(2)
Any costs incurred by a government department (including a government department of the Government of Northern Ireland) in connection with the election under this Act shall be paid out of the Consolidated Fund, and any forfeited deposit or other sum received by such a government department in connection with the election under this Act shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.
5 Short title and supplemental provisions.
(1)
This Act may be cited as the Northern Ireland Assembly Act 1973.
(2)
Any power of making orders conferred by this Act shall include a power to vary of revoke orders so made.
(3)
In this Act—
(a)
references to any enactment include references to that enactment as amended or extended by or under any enactment, including this Act, and
(b)
“enactment” includes an Act of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.
F10SCHEDULE MEMBERS TO BE RETURNED BY CONSTITUENCIES
Constituency | Number of members to be returned |
|---|---|
Belfast East | 5 |
Belfast North | 5 |
Belfast South | 5 |
Belfast West | 5 |
East Antrim | 5 |
East Londonderry | 5 |
Fermanagh and South Tyrone | 5 |
Foyle | 5 |
Lagan Valley | 5 |
Mid Ulster | 5 |
Newry and Armagh | 5 |
North Antrim | 5 |
North Down | 5 |
South Antrim | 5 |
South Down | 5 |
Strangford | 5 |
Upper Bann | 5 |
West Tyrone | 5 |