Chief counting officers and counting officers
9.—(1) For a local government referendum—
(a)there shall be a Chief Counting Officer who shall be the person who is for the time being the Chief Counting Officer for the Regional Assembly referendum in the region(1);
(b)there shall be a counting officer for each voting area who shall be the counting officer in that area for the Regional Assembly referendum in the region;
(c)the local authority in each voting area shall place the services of their officers at the disposal of the counting officer for that area, for the purpose of assisting him in the discharge of his functions;
(d)each counting officer shall, as respects the votes cast in each voting area for which he is the counting officer, certify—
(i)the number of ballot papers counted by him, and
(ii)the number of votes cast in favour of each answer to the question asked in the local government referendum;
(e)a counting officer shall not make his certification under sub-paragraph (d) until he has been directed by the Chief Counting Officer that he may do so;
(f)the Chief Counting Officer shall certify in relation to the local government referendum—
(i)the total number of ballot papers counted, and
(ii)the total number of votes cast in favour of each answer to the question asked,
in the whole of the referendum area.
(2) For a Regional Assembly referendum, a counting officer shall not make his certification under section 128(5) of the 2000 Act until he has been directed by the Chief Counting Officer that he may do so.
(3) In paragraph (1)(c), “the local authority” means—
(a)where the voting area is a district in England, the council for that area, or
(b)where the voting area is the Isle of Wight or the Isles of Scilly, the Council of the Isle of Wight or the Council of the Isles of Scilly, respectively.
For the designation or appointment of a Chief Counting Officer for a Regional Assembly referendum, and for the appointment of counting officers for such referendum see section 128 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (c. 41).