STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS

S.I. No. 144 of 2002

ELECTORAL REGULATIONS, 2002

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S.I. No. 144 of 2002

ELECTORAL REGULATIONS, 2002

The Minister for the Environment and Local Government in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 3, 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, 2002.

2.       The form set out in the First 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:

(i) a passport; (ii) a driving licence; (iii) an employee identity card containing a photograph; (iv) a student identity card issued by an educational institution and containing a photograph; (v) a travel document containing name and photograph; (vi) a Bank or Savings or Credit Union book containing address in constituency or electoral area; (vii) a cheque book; (viii) a cheque card; (ix) a credit card; (x) a birth certificate; (xi) a marriage certificate. Items (vii) to (xi) must be accompanied by a further document which establishes the address of the holder in the constituency or electoral area.

4.       The prescribed photographic identification for the purposes of section 46(4B)(d) shall be a passport, driving licence, employee identity card containing a photograph, student identity card issued by an educational institution and containing a photograph; bank card with a photograph.

5.       The prescribed local authority offices for the purposes of section 46(4B)(a) for a Dáil constituency listed in column 1 of the Second Schedule shall be the offices listed in column 2 of the Second Schedule.

FIRST SCHEDULE

NOMINATION PAPER FOR DAIL ELECTION

(___________/____)

(month/year)

No. _________________________

(To be inserted by returning officer)

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.

3.       Please tick (1) or (2) below -

4.       Please tick, as appropriate -

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

Proposer's No. and polling district letter on Register of Electors for the constituency concerned  ___________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

Signature:      _______________________________________________________________________

(Candidate/Proposer)

Address:       _______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Date:            _______________________________________________________________________

No.  __________(To be inserted by local authority)

6.       Local  Authority  ________________________________________________________________

7.       Decision of Returning Officer

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

Notes on nomination forms

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

1.       NOMINATION

A candidate may nominate himself or herself or may, with the candidate's consent, be nominated by a proposer. A proposer must be registered as a Dáil elector in the constituency for which he or she proposes to nominate the candidate (section 46).

2.       NON-PARTY CANDIDATES

A nomination form from a candidate of a registered political party must have a certificate of political affiliation attached (see paragraph 3). If no certificate is attached, the form must be assented to by 30 electors (excluding the candidate or proposer) registered in the constituency concerned.

In such cases, the candidate/proposer must complete questions 1, 2 and/or 5 and lodge it in the local authority offices prescribed for the constituency to be assented to by 30 registered electors. Questions 3 and 4 should be completed and the form should be signed and dated before delivery to the returning officer.

IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CANDIDATE/PROPOSER TO ARRANGE FOR THE ASSENTORS TO VISIT THE LOCAL AUTHORITY OFFICES TO ASSENT TO THE FORM.

Each assentor MUST bring one of the following photographic documents for identification purposes -- passport, driving licence, employee identity card containing a photograph, student identity card issued by an educational institution and containing a photograph, or a bank card with a photograph. One of the documents MUST be produced to the local authority official.

IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CANDIDATE/PROPOSER TO COLLECT THE NOMINATION FORM WITH THE ASSENTORS SIGNATURES AND DELIVER IT TO THE RETURNING OFFICER BEFORE THE CLOSING TIME FOR RECEIPT OF NOMINATIONS.

3.       CERTIFICATE OF POLITICAL AFFILIATION

(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 45).

4.       CANDIDATE'S PHOTOGRAPHS

If a candidate wishes to have his or her photograph included on the ballot paper, two identical copies of the photograph (75mm × 100mm) must be produced with the nomination paper. The photograph must be taken not more than 12 months prior to the date of the election and must be of good quality, in colour and taken to a professional standard, showing the candidate's full face, head and shoulders only on a light background (any colour). The reverse of the photograph must be white and unglazed.

Each copy of the photograph must have the candidate's name clearly printed and attached to the back. Writing on the back of a copy may reduce the quality of the photograph on the ballot paper.

The photograph may be supplied in digitised format on disk (two copies) but must be accompanied by two hard copies (75mm × 100mm) which are identical to the photograph on disk.

If one copy only of the photograph is produced, or, if the copies produced do not comply with the above requirements, the returning officer may not include the candidate's photograph on the ballot paper. If no photograph is supplied, the space for the candidate's photograph will be left blank on the ballot paper.

THE ONUS IS ON THE CANDIDATE TO MEET THESE REQUIREMENTS.

5.       PHOTOGRAPHS AND ELECTRONIC VOTING

In constituencies where the electronic voting and counting system is being used, candidates must provide a photograph in digitised format on disk (or CD) along with two identical paper copies. The digital photograph should be supplied in accordance with the requirements specified at paragraph 4 and it should be in jpg format.

6.       DELIVERY OF NOMINATION PAPER

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

7.       VALIDITY OF NOMINATION PAPER

The returning officer will rule on the validity of the nomination paper within one hour of delivery. They are 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 or her 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 or their proposer, if any, and one other person designated by the candidate (or their proposer) may attend the ruling (section 52).

The returning officer will not accept as valid a nomination paper without a certificate of political affiliation if it is not assented to by 30 registered electors and the details required at part 6 of the form are not included on it.

8.       ELIGIBILITY FOR ELECTION DÁIL ÉIREANN

A person who -

(a)        is not a citizen of Ireland, or

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

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

(d)        is a Judge, Advocate General or Registrar 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 whole time member of the Defence Forces, or

(h)        is a civil servant who is not by the terms of his or her 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, 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, or

(l)         is a directly elected chathaoirleach of a local authority and the disqualification shall extend for 12 months after ceasing for any reason to hold that office.

is not eligible for election (section 41).

9.       APPOINTMENT OF ELECTION AGENT

Each candidate must appoint an election agent. The main function of the election agent is to authorise and control spending connected to the candidate's election campaign. The agent may also assist the candidate generally in relation to the election. The candidate must supply the name and office address of the election agent in writing to the Returning Officer for the constituency in which the candidate is standing. (If a person is standing as a candidate in more than one constituency, he or she must supply the information to the Returning Officer for each of the constituencies). The Returning Officer will subsequently supply the details to the Standards in Public Office Commission. Further information on the role of an election agent is contained in the Commission's guidelines.

10.     PENALTIES

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).

SECOND SCHEDULE

Designated local authority offices for assenting to nomination forms for a Dáil election

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation).

These regulations prescribe the form of nomination paper to be used at a Dáil election, specify the documents which a voter may be required to produce at a polling station, specify the photographic identification documents required by an assentor to a nomination paper and the prescribed local authority offices for lodging of nomination papers by certain candidates for assenting to by registered electors in the constituency or electoral area.