Local Government Act, 1941
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Failure to nominate sufficient persons to form quorum. |
37.—(1) Where at the nomination of candidates at an election of members of a local authority either no candidates are duly nominated or the candidates duly nominated are less in number than the quorum for meetings of such local authority, such election shall not be proceeded with and Part IV of this Act shall have effect in relation to such local authority as if on the day on which such election was to have been held the members thereof had been removed from office under the said Part IV or, if such election is a new election within the meaning of the said Part IV, had again been removed from office under the said Part IV. | |
(2) Where in pursuance of sub-section (1) of this section an election is not proceeded with and such election would have been proceeded with but for a decision of the returning officer refusing to accept one or more nominations of candidates, the decision of the returning officer in respect of such nomination or any of such nominations (as the case may be) may be questioned by an election petition. | ||
(3) Where the court trying an election petition in relation to an election of members of a local authority declares that by reason of a deficiency in the number of candidates duly nominated such election should not have been proceeded with, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:— | ||
(a) the said election shall be deemed not to have been held andthe persons elected at such election shall be deemed not to have come into office; | ||
(b) every act done during the period between the completion of such election and the determination of such election petition which was done by the persons or any one or more of the persons declared elected at such election and which purported to be an act of such local authority or an act done by virtue of the membership of such local authority of such one or more persons (as the case may be) shall be as valid and effectual as if all the persons declared elected at such election had been validly elected and qualified to act as members of such local authority; | ||
(c) every such act which was done by an individual person declared elected at such election and subsequently declared appointed to the office of chairman, lord mayor, or mayor of such local authority and which purported to be an act done by virtue of the said office shall be as valid and effectual as if all the persons declared elected at such election had been validly elected and qualified to act as members of such local authority and such individual person had been validly appointed to the said office; | ||
(d) subject to the provisions of this sub-section, Part IV of this Act shall have effect in relation to such local authority as if on the day on which such election was held the members thereof had been removed from office under the said Part IV or, if such election was a new election within the meaning of the said Part IV, had again been removed from Office under the said Part IV. | ||
(4) Where the returning officer at an election of members of a local authority refuses to accept one or more nominations and by reason of such decision such election is not proceeded with and a court trying an election petition questioning such decision declares that such decision was wrong and that such election should have been proceeded with, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:— | ||
(a) Part IV of this Act shall be deemed to have been in force pursuant to sub-section (1) of this section in relation to such local authority from the day on which such election was to have been held and shall continue so in force until the coming into office of the persons elected at the election held in accordance with the next following paragraph of this sub-section; | ||
(b) the Minister shall, as soon as may be after the determination of such election petition, fix a day for the holding of an election of members of such local authority and such election shall be held on that day. |