Municipal Corporations Act 1882

PART II Rules as to Nomination in Elections of Councillors.

1 Every candidate for the office of councillor must be nominated in writing.

2 The writing must be subscribed by two burgesses of the borough or, in the case of a ward election, of the ward, as proposer and seconder, and by eight other burgesses of the borough or ward, as assenting to the nomination.

3 Each candidate must be nominated by a separate nomination paper, but the same burgesses, or any of them, may subscribe as many nomination papers as there are vacancies to be filled, but no more.

4 Each person nominated must be enrolled in the burgess roll or entered in the separate non-resident list required by this Act to be made.

5 The nomination paper must state the surname and other names of the candidate, with his abode and description.

6 The town clerk shall provide nomination papers, and shall supply any burgess with as many nomination papers as may be required, and shall, at the request of any burgess, fill up a nomination paper.

7 Every nomination paper subscribed as aforesaid must be delivered by the candidate, or his proposer or seconder, at the town clerk's office, seven days at least before the day of election, and before five o'clock in the afternoon of the last day for delivery of nomination papers.

8 The town clerk shall forthwith send notice of every such nomination to each candidate.

9 The mayor shall attend at the town hall on the day next after the last day for delivery of nomination papers for a sufficient time, between the hours of two and four in the afternoon, and shall decide on the validity of every objection made in writing to a nomination paper.

10 Where a person subscribes more nomination papers than one, his subscription shall be inoperative in all but the one which is first delivered.

11 Each candidate may, by writing signed by him, or, if he is absent from the United Kingdom, then his proposer or seconder may, by writing signed by him, appoint a person (in this schedule referred to as the candidate's representative) to attend the proceedings before the mayor on behalf of the candidate, and this appointment must be delivered to the town clerk before five o'clock in the afternoon of the last day for delivery of nomination papers.

12 Each candidate and his representative, but no other person, except for the purpose of assisting the mayor, shall be entitled to attend the proceedings before the mayor.

13 Each candidate and his representative may, during the time appointed for the attendance of the mayor for the purposes of this schedule, object to the nomination paper of any other candidate for the borough or ward.

14 The decision of the mayor shall be given in writing, and shall, if disallowing an objection, be final, but, if allowing an objection, shall be subject to reversal on petition questioning the election or return.

15 The town clerk shall at least four days before the day of election cause the surnames and other names of all persons validly nominated, with their respective abodes and descriptions, and the names of the persons subscribing their nomination papers as proposers and seconders, to be printed and fixed on the town hall, and in the case of a ward election, in some conspicuous place in the ward.

16 The nomination of a person absent from the United Kingdom shall be void, unless his written consent given within one month before the day of his nomination in the presence of two witnesses is produced at the time of his nomination.

17 Where the number of valid nominations exceeds that of the vacancies, any candidate may withdraw from his candidature by notice signed by him, and delivered at the town clerk's office not later than two o'clock in the afternoon of the day next after the last day for delivery of nomination papers : Provided that such notices shall take effect in the order in which they are delivered, and that no such notice shall have effect so as to reduce the number of candidates ultimately standing nominated below the number of vacancies;

18 In and for the purposes of the provisions of this Act relating to proceedings preliminary to election, the burgess roll or ward roll which will be in force on the day of election shall be deemed to be the burgess roll or ward roll and a person whose name is inserted in one of the lists from which the burgess roll or ward roll will be made up, shall be deemed to be enrolled in that roll although that roll is not yet completed.