Right to send election address post free
64.—(1) At an ordinary election or at an Assembly election other than at an ordinary election, each individual candidate or group of party list candidates at such an election (subject to such reasonable terms and conditions as the universal postal service provider concerned may specify) shall be entitled to send free of any charge for postage which would otherwise be made by a universal postal 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) He or they 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 of which he or they are a candidate or candidates one such communication as mentioned in paragraph (1) for each appointment in respect of which that person is so entered.
(3) In relation to a candidate at a constituency election or to an individual candidate at a regional election, the 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 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 postal service provider concerned for the payment of postage should he not be shown as standing nominated as mentioned above.
(4) In relation to a group of party list candidates at a regional election, those persons shall not be deemed to be candidates for the purposes of this article unless they are all shown as standing nominated in the statement of persons nominated but until publication of that statement persons who declare themselves to be, and comprise all, such candidates shall be entitled to exercise the right of free postage conferred by this article if they give such security as may be required by the universal postal service provider concerned should they not all be shown as standing nominated as mentioned above.
(5) For the purposes of this article “elector”—
(a)means a person who is registered in the register of local government 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 as below voting age if (but only if) it appears from the register that he will be of voting age on the day fixed for the poll.
(6) The regional returning officer shall be entitled to treat any purported exercise by a group of party list candidates of the right of free postage conferred by this article through their election agent as a valid exercise of that right.
(7) If at a regional election the area of the returning officer is situated in the area of more than one official designated by a universal postal service provider, the controlling designated official shall be determined by the regional returning officer.
(8) 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.