Electoral (Amendment) Act, 1961
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Returning officers and assistant returning officers. |
7.—(1) The returning officer for a constituency specified in the Schedule to this Act shall be— | |
(a) in case the whole of the constituency is situate in a county or county borough for which there is a sheriff—the sheriff, | ||
(b) in case part of the constituency is situate in a county borough and part in a county and there is a sheriff for the county borough and a sheriff for the county—such one of the sheriffs as the Minister by order appoints from time to time, | ||
(c) in any other case—the county registrar or, where part of the constituency has one county registrar and part another county registrar or parts other county registrars, such one of the county registrars as the Minister by order appoints from time to time. | ||
(2) (a) Where a constituency consists of the whole of a county and part of another county, the returning officer may appoint the county registrar for the county in which that part is situate (and shall appoint him if he so requires) to be assistant returning officer for the part of the constituency in the other county. | ||
(b) Where a constituency consists of the whole of a county and parts of two other counties, then, as respects the county registrar for each of the two other counties, the returning officer may appoint him (and shall appoint him if he so requires) to be assistant returning officer for the part of the constituency in the county for which he is county registrar. | ||
(c) Where a constituency consists either of the whole of two counties or of the whole of two counties and a part of another county, the returning officer— | ||
(i) may appoint the county registrar for the wholecounty forming part of the constituency which is not the county for which the returning officer is county registrar (and shall appoint him if he so requires) to be assistant returning officer for that part of the constituency, and | ||
(ii) in case the constituency consists of the whole of two counties and a part of another county, may appoint the county registrar for the county of which a part forms part of the constituency (and shall appoint him if he so requires) to be assistant returning officer for that part of the constituency. | ||
(d) (i) Where a constituency consists of parts of two counties, the returning officer may appoint the county registrar for the second county (and shall appoint him if he so requires) to be assistant returning officer for the part of the constituency in that county. | ||
(ii) In the foregoing subparagraph “the second county” refers to such one of the relevant two counties as is not that for which the returning officer is the county registrar. | ||
(e) Where a constituency consists of a part of a county and a part of a county borough, the returning officer may appoint the sheriff for the county borough (and shall appoint him if he so requires) to be assistant returning officer for the part of the constituency in the county borough. | ||
(f) Where a constituency consists of the whole of a county borough and part of a county for which there is a sheriff, the returning officer may appoint the sheriff (and shall appoint him if he so requires) to be assistant returning officer for the part of the constituency in the county. | ||
(3) An assistant returning officer shall perform, in the part of a constituency for which he was appointed, such of the duties of the returning officer for the constituency as that officer is not required by law to perform in person, but if any doubt arises as to the duties of an assistant returning officer, the doubt shall be determined by the Minister. |