First Previous (PART IX Disqualification for Membership of Dáil) Next (PART XI Agents of Candidates)

23 1992

ELECTORAL ACT, 1992

PART X

Nominations

Notice of election.

44. —The returning officer shall, within two days (disregarding any excluded day) after the day on which he receives the writ, give public notice in the form directed by the Minister (in this Act referred to as the “notice of election”) stating—

(a) the times for receiving nominations,

(b) the amount of the deposit,

(c) the times and place at which nomination papers may be obtained,

(d) the times and place at which he will attend to receive nominations, and

(e) the day and the period fixed for the holding of the poll if the election is contested.

Necessity for nomination.

45. —A person shall not be entitled to have his name inserted in a ballot paper as a candidate at a Dáil election unless he has been nominated in the manner provided by this Act and his nomination paper has been ruled as valid by the returning officer.

Nomination of candidates.

46. —(1) At a Dáil election a person may nominate himself as a candidate or may, with his consent, be nominated by another person (being a person registered as a Dáil elector in the constituency for which he proposes to nominate the candidate) as proposer.

(2) Each candidate shall be nominated by a separate nomination paper in the form prescribed by regulations made by the Minister. The form of nomination paper may include—

(a) a note of the qualifications, disqualifications and incapacities as regards election to and membership of the Dáil,

(b) a form of declaration, to be signed by the candidate or his proposer, that he has read the note referred to in paragraph (a) and believes the candidate to be eligible for election and that the candidate has consented to the nomination.

(3) Each nomination paper shall state the names (the surname being stated first) and the address and occupation (if any) of the candidate.

(4) A candidate may include in his nomination paper the name of the political party registered in the Register of Political Parties as a party organised to contest a Dáil election of which he is a candidate, provided that, at the time the nomination paper is delivered to the returning officer, a certificate in the form directed by the Minister (in this Act referred to as a “certificate of political affiliation”) authenticating the candidature is produced to the returning officer, being a certificate signed by the officer or officer[html] of such party whosename or names appear in the said Register pursuant to section 25 (4) (c). Where such a certificate is produced, the returning officer, provided he is satisfied that it is appropriate to do so in relation to the candidate, shall cause a statement of the name of the relevant political party to be specified in relation to the candidate on all the ballot papers and on notices.

(5) Where a candidate is not the candidate of a political party registered in the Register of Political Parties as a party organised to contest a Dáil election he shall be entitled to enter after his name on the nomination paper the expression “Non-Party” and, if he does so, the returning officer shall cause a statement of that expression to be specified in relation to the candidate on all the ballot papers and on notices.

(6) The returning officer shall provide nomination papers during the usual office hours, at such place or places as are named in the notice of election, on each week-day during the period beginning on the publication of that notice and ending at 12 noon on the latest date for receiving nominations and he shall supply a nomination paper or papers free of charge to any person applying therefor, but the use of a paper supplied by the returning officer pursuant to this section shall not be obligatory at a Dáil election, provided that the nomination paper used at the election is in the prescribed form.

(7) Every reference in this section to the Register of Political Parties shall be construed as a reference to the copy of that Register sent to the returning officer pursuant to section 25 (14).

Deposit by candidates.

47. —(1) A candidate at a Dáil election, or someone on his behalf, shall, before the expiration of the time appointed by this Act for receiving nominations, deposit with the returning officer the sum of three hundred pounds and if he fails to do so his candidature shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

(2) The deposit to be made by or on behalf of a candidate pursuant to this section may be made by means of legal tender or, with the consent of the returning officer, in any other manner.

Return or disposal of deposit.

48. —(1) The deposit made by or on behalf of a candidate shall be returned where the candidate—

(a) withdraws his candidature in accordance with section 54 ,

(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.

(2) Any deposit which is not returned under the foregoing subsection shall be forfeited.

(3) If a candidate is nominated at an election in more than one constituency, he shall in no case be entitled to have more than one deposit returned and, if but for this subsection he would be entitled under this section to have more than one deposit returned, only such one as the Minister for Finance shall direct of the deposits shall be returned and the other deposit or deposits shall be forfeited.

(4) Where a deposit is to be returned under subsection (1) it shall be returned to the person by whom it was made; provided that a deposit made by a person who dies before the deposit is returned shall be returned to his personal representative.

(5) A deposit forfeited under this section shall be disposed of by the returning officer in such manner as may be directed by the Minister for Finance.

(6) In this section “personal representative” has the meaning assigned to it by section 3 of the Succession Act, 1965 .

Times for receiving nominations.

49. —The earliest time for receiving nominations shall be 10 a.m. on the day (disregarding any excluded day) next following the latest date for the publication of the notice of election and the latest time for receiving nominations shall be 12 noon on the ninth day (disregarding any excluded day) next following the day on which the writ or writs for the election is or are issued.

Delivery of nomination papers.

50. —(1) Every nomination paper shall be delivered to the returning officer within the times specified in section 49 , by the candidate or his proposer.

(2) The delivery of the nomination paper shall be made by the candidate in person except that, where the candidate is proposed by another person, it may be made either as aforesaid or by the proposer in person.

(3) The returning officer shall attend to receive nominations at the place specified in that behalf in the notice of election between the hours of 10 a.m. and 12 noon and between the hours of 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on the day (disregarding any excluded day) before the latest date for receiving nominations and between the hours of 10 a.m. and 12 noon on the said latest date.

Selection of nomination papers.

51. —The returning officer shall number the nomination papers in the order in which they are received by him; and the first valid nomination paper nominating a candidate for election shall be deemed to be the nomination of that candidate for that constituency.

Ruling on validity of nomination papers.

52. —(1) The returning officer shall rule on the validity of each nomination paper within one hour after its delivery to him and may rule that it is invalid if, but only if, he considers that it is not properly made out or signed.

(2) The candidate nominated by each nomination paper and his proposer, if any, and one other person designated by the candidate or his proposer, as the case may be, and no other person, except with the permission of the returning officer, shall be entitled to attend while the said nomination paper is being ruled upon by the returning officer.

(3) The returning officer shall object to the name of a candidate in a nomination paper if such name—

(a) is not a 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;

and where a returning officer so objects, he shall allow the candidate or his proposer, as may be appropriate, to amend the name and, if it is not so amended to the returning officer's satisfaction, the returning officer may amend it, as he thinks fit, after consultation with the candidate or his proposer, if either is present, or may rule that the nomination paper is invalid as not being properly made out.

(4) The returning officer shall object to the description of a candidate in a nomination paper 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 or an entry made pursuant to subsection (4) or (5) of section 46 . Where the returning officer so objects, he shall allow the candidate or his proposer, as may be appropriate, to amend the description and, if it is not so amended to the returning officer's satisfaction, the returning officer may amend or delete it, as he thinks fit, after consultation with the candidate or his proposer, if either is present, or may rule that the nomination paper is invalid as not being properly made out.

(5) When the returning officer has ruled on the validity of a nomination paper, he shall put a note of his decision on the nomination paper and shall sign the note. If he rules that the paper is invalid, he shall include a statement of his reasons. His decision under this section shall be final subject only to reversal on a petition questioning the election.

(6) As soon as practicable after ruling on the validity of a nomination paper, the returning officer shall give, by post or otherwise, notice in writing of his ruling to the candidate.

(7) Every person in respect of whom a nomination paper has, under this section, been determined to be valid and whose candidature is not withdrawn in accordance with section 54 or is not deemed under section 47 (1) or 62 (1) to have been withdrawn shall stand validly nominated as a candidate.

Publication of nominations.

53. —The returning officer shall, as soon as practicable after he has ruled that a nomination paper is valid, cause a notice to be displayed outside the place at which he is receiving nominations stating the name and description of the person nominated in the paper and the name and address of his proposer, if any.

Withdrawal of candidature.

54. —(1) A candidate may withdraw his candidature by a notice of withdrawal signed by him and delivered in person by him or by his proposer to the returning officer not later than the hour of 12 noon on the day (disregarding any excluded day) next following the latest date for receiving nominations.

(2) Where the returning officer is satisfied that a candidate wishes to withdraw his candidature and that the candidate and his proposer are unable to attend, withdrawal may be effected by delivering to the returning officer, not later than the said hour, a notice of withdrawal signed by the candidate and by the person delivering the notice.

Publication of withdrawal.

55. —The returning officer shall, immediately on the delivery to him of a notice of withdrawal under section 54 , give public notice of the withdrawal (and, in the case of the withdrawal of a candidate who was nominated by another person as proposer, of the name of the other person).

Obstruction of nominations.

56. —(1) If the proceedings for or in connection with the nomination of candidates are obstructed by violence the returning officer may adjourn the proceedings to a later hour on the same day or to the next following day (disregarding any excluded day) and, if he so considers it necessary, he may further adjourn the proceedings until such obstruction shall have ceased.

(2) Where any proceedings for or in connection with such nomination are adjourned under this section, the returning officer shall so inform the Minister who may, by order, postpone the latest time for receiving nominations in the constituency for a period equal to the period of such adjournment and appoint the day for the taking of the poll in that constituency. In case the Minister appoints a day under this section the poll shall be taken in the constituency concerned on the day so appointed and the order under section 96 shall, in so far as it relates to the constituency, be construed and have effect as if the day appointed under this section were the day specified in the said order for taking the poll.

Candidates entitled to free postage.

57. —(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (4), each candidate at a Dáil election shall, subject to such conditions as may be specified under section 74 of the Postal and Telecommunications Services Act, 1983 , be entitled to send, free of any charge for postage, to each person on the register of Dáil electors for the constituency or to any combination of such persons, one postal communication containing matter relating to the election only and not exceeding 50 grammes in weight.

(2) (a) Where at any Dáil election, any person is a candidate, other than a candidate to whom subsection (4) refers, in more than one constituency he shall not be entitled to exercise the right of free postage conferred by this section in respect of more than one such constituency.

(b) A candidate to whom paragraph (a) applies, or his agent, shall indicate in writing to An Post the constituency in respect of which he wishes to exercise his right to free postage under this section.

(3) A candidate shall not be entitled to exercise the right of free postage conferred by this section before he is validly nominated, unless he has given such security as may be required by An Post for the payment of the postage on all communications sent by him under this section in case he does not eventually become nominated.

(4) Where in a constituency two or more candidates at a Dáil election are candidates of the same political party then for the purposes of this section those candidates shall be regarded as a single candidate.

(5) The Minister may, after consultation with the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications and such other persons as he considers appropriate, by order amend the provisions of this section.

(6) (a) The Minister may revoke or amend an order under this section (including an order under this subsection).

(b) Where an order under this section (including an order under this subsection) is proposed to be made, a draft thereof shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the order shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.

Procedure after nominations.

58. —If at 12 noon on the day (disregarding any excluded day) next following the latest date for receiving nominations—

(a) the number of candidates standing nominated exceeds the number of vacancies to be filled, the returning officer shall adjourn the Dáil election and take a poll in accordance with this Act, or

(b) the number of candidates standing nominated is equal to or less than the number of vacancies to be filled, the returning officer shall forthwith declare the candidates standing nominated to be elected and shall return their names to the Clerk of the Dáil in the manner provided for in section 39 (4) and give public notice in accordance with the provisions of section 127 .