European Assembly Elections Act, 1984
|
Amendment of First Schedule to Principal Act. |
7.—The First Schedule to the Principal Act is hereby amended by— | |
(a) the substitution of “forty-eight hours before the latest time for receiving nominations under Rule 7” for “seventy-two hours before the latest time for the withdrawal of candidature under Rule 12” in both paragraph (1) and paragraph (2) of Rule 20; | ||
(b) the substitution of the following subparagraphs for subparagraphs (a), (b) and (c) of Rule 20 (4): | ||
“(a) his death shall not invalidate his nomination or any preference recorded for him, and | ||
(b) if he is elected— | ||
(i) his election shall not be invalidated by reason of his death and he shall be deemed to have been elected to membership of the Assembly by virtue of this Act and to have resigned his office immediately after having so become such a representative, and | ||
(ii) section 15 of this Act shall apply as regards the resultant vacancy in the Assembly.”; | ||
(c) the substitution of the following paragraphs for paragraphs (b) and (c) of Rule 21: | ||
“(b) the names and descriptions of the candidates standing nominated as entered in their nomination papers and of the proposers, if any, | ||
(c) any replacement candidates' list duly presented at the election (being such a list which is not withdrawn, deemed under the European Assembly Elections Act, 1984, to have been withdrawn or ruled by the returning officer as being invalid) and the name of the registered political party or non-party candidate by whom such list was presented together with the name and address or names and addresses of any person or persons nominated by entry thereon to be replacement candidates as entered on such list and, if there is more than one, in the same order as that in which they appear on such list, and | ||
(d) the order in which the names of the said candidates will appear on the ballot papers.”; | ||
(d) the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (b) of Rule 22 (2): | ||
“(bb) in case a replacement candidates' list has been signed by a non-party candidate pursuant to section 4 (1) (b) of the European Assembly Elections Act, 1984, and is neither withdrawn nor ruled by the returning officer as being invalid, the entry in relation to that candidate shall include a reference (being a reference referred to in section 4 (6) (a) of the European Assembly Elections Act, 1984) to that list,”; | ||
(e) the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (c) of Rule 22 (2): | ||
“(cc) in case a replacement candidates' list has been signed by an officer of such political party pursuant to section 4 (1) (a) of the European Assembly Elections Act, 1984, and is neither withdrawn nor ruled by the returning officer as being invalid, the entry in relation to any candidate of that party shall include a reference (being a reference referred to in section 4 (6) (a) of the European Assembly Election Act, 1984) to that list,”; | ||
(f) the insertion of the following Rule after Rule 51: | ||
“Verification of ballot paper accounts. | ||
51A. (1) Not less than four days before the polling day, the local returning officer shall give written notice to each candidate of the day, time and place at which he will open the ballot boxes pursuant to this Rule and of the number of agents each candidate may appoint to attend at the opening. He shall give the said agents reasonable facilities for overseeing the proceedings and all information with respect thereto which he can give them consistent with the orderly conduct of the proceedings and the performance of his functions. | ||
(2) The day specified in a notice under this Rule shall be a day not later than the day specified in the relevant order under section 6 (2) of this Act. | ||
(3) On the day specified in the notice under paragraph (1) of this Rule and at the time so specified the local returning officer shall— | ||
(a) open each ballot box and count the number of ballot papers found therein and compare the total number of papers ascertained with the number shown in the appropriate ballot paper account, | ||
(b) prepare a statement showing the result of the comparison under subparagraph (a) of this paragraph in respect of all the ballot papers for the country or country borough for which he is the local returning officer, | ||
(c) open the ballot box in which the postal ballot papers were placed pursuant to the requirements of Rule 50 of this Schedule and count and record the number of such ballot papers, | ||
(d) make up in separate packets the ballot papers found in each ballot box (including postal ballot papers), endorse on each such packet the number of ballot papers contained therein and particulars of the polling station to which they relate (or, where appropriate, that they are postal ballot papers) and place the packets in boxes which he shall seal and on each of which he shall endorse the number of packets contained therein and the name of the country or county borough for which he is the local returning officer, and | ||
(e) forthwith deliver to the returning officer for the constituency all such boxes together with— | ||
(i) the statement referred to in subparagraph (b) of this paragraph, and | ||
(ii) a statement of the number of postal ballot papers recorded under subparagraph (c) of this paragraph. | ||
(4) The local returning officer, while counting and recording the number of ballot papers pursuant to this Rule, shall cause the said papers to be kept face upwards and due precautions to be taken to prevent any person from seeing the numbers printed on the backs of the said papers. | ||
(5) the local returning officer, his assistants and clerks, members of the Garda Síochána on duty and the agents of the candidates duly appointed for this purpose and no other person, except with the permission of such returning officer, may be present at proceedings conducted by him pursuant to this Rule.”; | ||
(g) the substitution of “dealt with in accordance with Rule 51A of this Schedule” for “delivered by the local returning officer who shall treat it as a ballot box for the purpose of the counting of the votes at the election” in paragraph (4) of Rule 49; | ||
(h) the substitution of “any replacement candidates' list of which public notice was given pursuant to Rule 21, as amended by section 7 of the European Assembly Elections Act, 1984,” for “the statement referred to in Rule 54 (2)” in paragraph (3) of Rule 68; | ||
(i) the substitution of the following subparagraphs for subparagraphs (c) and (d) of Rule 69 (1): | ||
“(c) the statements prepared in accordance with Rule 51A (3) of this Schedule, and | ||
(d) the candidates' nomination papers, whether valid or invalid, any certificates of political affiliation and any replacement candidates' lists, whether valid or invalid,”; | ||
(j) the insertion in Rule 69 (2) after subparagraph (a) of the following subparagraph: | ||
“(aa) the ballot paper accounts,”; | ||
(k) the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (1) of Rule 79: | ||
“(1) A person shall not— | ||
(a) nominate another person for election under this Act to be a representative in the Assembly, or | ||
(b) withdraw the candidature of another person for such election, or | ||
(c) nominate a person as a replacement candidate under the European Assembly Elections Act, 1984. | ||
save with the consent of that person.”; and | ||
(l) the insertion of the following Rule after Rule 81: | ||
“False declaration on replacement candidates' list. | ||
81A. (1) In case a person by whom a replacement candidates' list is signed makes a declaration on such list that he has read the notes on the back of the list and believes each of the persons whose names appear on the list as being replacement candidates, | ||
(a) to be eligible for nomination under the European Assembly Elections Act, 1984, as a replacement candidate, and | ||
(b) that none of such persons stands validly nominated as a replacement candidate in respect of any other constituency, | ||
then if any person whose name so appears, | ||
(c) is not eligible for such nomination, or | ||
(d) stands validly so nominated in respect of any other constituency, | ||
the person by whom the declaration is made shall be guilty of an offence. | ||
(2) In a prosecution for an offence under paragraph (1) of this Rule, it shall be a good defence for the defendant to show that he had reasonable grounds for believing that the relevant person, or, as may be appropriate, a relevant person, was eligible for nomination under the European Assembly Elections Act, 1984, as a replacement candidate, or did not stand validly nominated as a replacement candidate in respect of any other constituency.”, | ||
and paragraphs (1) and (2) of the said Rule 20, paragraph (4) of the said Rule 49 and paragraph (3) of the said Rule 68, as so amended, are set out in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, respectively, of the Table to this section. | ||
TABLE | ||
1. (1) Where, not less than forty-eight hours before the latest time for receiving nominations under Rule 7 of this Schedule, the returning officer becomes satisfied that a candidate standing nominated has died, the returning officer shall immediately give public notice to that effect and the candidature of the candidate shall be deemed to have been withdrawn. | ||
(2) Where, at any time during the period beginning forty-eight hours before the latest time for receiving nominations under Rule 7 of this Schedule and ending on the commencement of the poll, the returning officer becomes satisfied that a candidate standing nominated for election has died, the following provisions shall have effect in relation to the Assembly election— | ||
(a) the returning officer shall notify the Minister and the chief returning officer of the death of the candidate and at the same time, if notice of the poll has been given, he shall countermand the poll, | ||
(b) the returning officer shall give public notice that all acts done in connection with the election (other than the nomination of the surviving candidates) are void and that a fresh election will be held, | ||
(c) all the proceedings for the election shall be commenced afresh, but a fresh nomination shall not be necessary in respect of any candidate who stood nominated at the time when notification of the death of the candidate was sent to the Minister, | ||
(d) at the fresh election the earliest time for receiving nominations shall be 10 a.m. on the day (disregarding any excluded day) next following the date of the public notice referred to in subparagraph (b) of this paragraph and the latest time for receiving nominations shall be 12 noon on the third day (disregarding any excluded day) next following the said date, | ||
(e) the polling day at the fresh election shall be fixed by the Minister, | ||
(f) Rule 3 of this Schedule shall not apply in relation to the fresh election and references to the Register of Political Parties contained in Rule 4 of this Schedule shall, in relation to the fresh election, be construed as references to the copy of that Register sent to the returning officer in relation to the countermanded election. | ||
2. (4) A separate ballot box (which shall be subsequently dealt with in accordance with Rule 51A of this Schedule) shall be provided and shall be shown open and empty to the agents of the candidates present and shall be locked and sealed by the local returning officer. | ||
3. (3) The returning officer shall give public notice of the names and descriptions of the candidates elected and also, in the case of a contested election, of the total number of votes given for each candidate, whether elected or not, of any transfer of votes and of the total number of votes credited to each candidate at the end of the count at which such transfer took place. He shall send a copy of the said notice to the Minister, the chief returning officer and each person elected. He shall also send a copy of any replacement candidates' list of which public notice was given pursuant to Rule 21, as amended by section 7 of the European Assembly Elections Act, 1984 of this Schedule to the Minister. |