S.I. No. 407/1992 - Electoral Regulations, 1992.

S.I. No. 407 of 1992.

ELECTORAL REGULATIONS, 1992.

The Minister for the Environment in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 46 and 111 of the Electoral Act, 1992 (No. 23 of 1992) hereby makes the following Regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Electoral Regulations, 1992.

2. The form set out in the Schedule hereto shall be the prescribed form of nomination paper at a Dáil election.

3. The specified documents for the purpose of section 111 of the said Act shall be:

a passport; a driving licence; an employee or student identity card; a book for payment of Social Welfare allowances, benefits or pensions; a medical card; a free travel card issued by the Department of Social Welfare; a travel document containing the name and photograph of the holder; a signing-on card (UB 15 or UA 22) issued by the Department of Social Welfare; a Social Services Card issued by the Department of Social Welfare; a Bank or Savings Bank book; a cheque book; a cheque card; a credit card; a credit union membership card; a birth certificate; a marriage certificate.

SCHEDULE

NOMINATION PAPER

1. I nominate the person named under as a candidate for election to Dáil Éireann for the constituency of

2. I have read the notes on this form and declare that—

( a ) I believe the person named as candidate to be eligible for election, and

( b ) the person has consented to the nomination.

(Where form is completed by a person other than the candidate).

I have decided that this nomination paper is valid, or is invalid because ............................................................ ..........

RETURNING OFFICER.

Date...................................................

TO BE HANDED OR SENT TO THE CANDIDATE

I have decided that the nomination paper No. ............. of ............................................................ .....................................

............................................................ ............................................................ ................................................... is valid, or is invalid because ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................

............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ........

RETURNING OFFICER.

Address........................................................

............................................................ 

............................................................ 

Date............................................................ ..

NOTES

These notes are for guidance only and do not purport to be a definitive statement of the law.

(References in parentheses are to the provisions of the Electoral Act, 1992 ).

NOMINATION

1. A candidate may nominate himself or may, with his consent, be nominated by a proposer. A proposer must be registered as a Dáil elector in the constituency for which he proposes to nominate the candidate (Section 46).

DEPOSIT

2. A candidature will be deemed to have been withdrawn if a deposit of IR£300 is not lodged with the returning officer before 12 noon on the last day for receiving nominations. The deposit should be in legal tender or, with the consent of the returning officer, by bank draft or otherwise. (Section 47).

RETURN OF DEPOSIT

3. The deposit will be returned where the candidate—

( a ) withdraws his candidature before 12 noon on the day after the last day for receiving nominations,

( b ) dies before the poll is closed,

( c ) has not, before the expiration of the time for the receipt of nominations, been validly nominated as a candidate,

( d ) is elected, or

( e ) is not elected but the greatest number of votes credited to him at any stage of the counting of the votes exceeds one quarter of the quota.

The deposit will be returned to the person making it and the name and address of that person should be entered at 3 of the nomination paper (Section 48).

CERTIFICATE OF POLITICAL AFFILIATION

4. ( a ) If a candidate represents a registered political party a completed Certificate of Political Affiliation must be lodged with the nomination paper and the name of the party inserted in the appropriate column of the nomination paper.

( b ) If the candidate does not represent a registered political party the column may be left blank or the words "Non-Party" may be entered in it (Section 46).

DELIVERY OF NOMINATION PAPER

5. The completed nomination paper should be handed to the returning officer in person by the candidate or by his proposer before 12 noon on the last day for receiving nominations (Sections 49 and 50).

VALIDITY OF NOMINATION PAPER

6. The returning officer will rule on the validity of the nomination paper within one hour of its delivery to him. He is required to object to the name of a candidate if such name—

( a ) is not the name by which the candidate is commonly known, or

( b ) is misleading and likely to cause confusion, or

( c ) is unduly long, or

( d ) contains a political reference.

The returning officer is also required to object to a description of a candidate which is, in his opinion, incorrect, insufficient to identify the candidate or unnecessarily long or which contains a political reference other than, where appropriate, a reference to a public or elected office held, or formerly held, by the candidate. Without the permission of the returning officer, no person except the candidate and his proposer, if any, and one other person designated by the candidate (or his proposer) may attend the ruling (Section 52).

ELIGIBILITY FOR ELECTION TO DÁIL ÉIREANN

7. A person who—

( a ) is not a citizen of Ireland, or

( b ) has not reached the age of 21 years, or

( c ) is a member of the Commission of the European Communities, or

( d ) is a Judge, Advocate General or Register of the Court of Justice of the European Communities, or

( e ) is a member of the Court of Auditors of the European Communities, or

( f ) is a member of the Garda Síochána, or

( g ) is a wholetime member of the Defence Forces, or

( h ) is a civil servant who is not by the terms of his employment expressly permitted to be a member of the Dáil, or

( i ) is a person of unsound mind, or

( j ) is undergoing a sentence of imprisonment for any term exceeding six months, whether with or without hard labour, or of penal servitude for any period imposed by a court of competent jurisdiction in the State, or

( k ) is an undischarged bankrupt under an adjudication by a court of competent jurisdiction in the State,

is not eligible for election (Section 41).

APPOINTMENT OF ELECTION AGENT

8. A candidate may appoint one election agent to assist him generally in relation to the election: immediately upon such appointment the name and address of the agent must be notified in writing to the returning officer. (This notification may be given when the nomination paper is being handed to the returning officer) (Section 59).

PENALTIES

9. There are severe penalties for—

( a ) producing a forged:

(i) nomination paper, or

(ii) certificate of political affiliation to the returning officer; (Sections 138 and 142).

( b ) without the consent of the person concerned:

(i) nominating such person as a candidate, or

(ii) withdrawing the candidature of such person (Section 141); and

( c ) making a false declaration with respect to the eligibility of a candidate for election (Section 143).

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for the Environment, this 21st day of December, 1992.

MICHAEL SMITH,

Minister for the Environment.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These regulations prescribe the form of nomination paper to be used at a Dáil election, and specify the documents which an elector may be required to produce at a polling station.