Electoral Regulations 2007.

Statutory Instrument No.156/2007
Published date20 April 2007

S.I. No. 156 of 2007

ELECTORAL REGULATIONS 2007.

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 20th April, 2007.

The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 3, 46 (as amended by section 1 of the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2007 (No. 14 of 2007)), 88 (as amended by section 21 of the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2001 (No. 38 of 2001)) 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 2007.

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

3. The form set out in the Second Schedule hereto shall be the prescribed form for making a statutory declaration for the purposes of section 46(6)(a) of the Electoral Act 1992 .

4. The prescribed photographic identification for the purposes of section 46(6)(b) of the Electoral Act 1992 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 bank card with a photograph;

(vi) a travel document containing name and photograph.

5. (1) A photograph of a candidate at a Dáil election intended for inclusion on a ballot paper shall be delivered to the returning officer with the nomination paper in accordance with the requirements specified in the Third Schedule hereto.

(2) Where the requirements referred to in sub-article (1) of this article are not complied with, the returning officer may not include the photograph on the ballot paper.

(3) Where the nomination paper is not accompanied by a photograph, or sub-article (2) of this article applies, the space provided on the ballot paper for a candidate’s photograph shall remain blank.

6. (1) The emblem of a political party which may be registered in the Register of Political Parties pursuant to an application under section 25(3) of the Electoral Act 1992 , as substituted by section 11 of the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2001 , shall comply with the requirements specified in the Fourth Schedule hereto.

(2) Where no emblem is registered in the Register of Political Parties, the space provided on the ballot paper for an emblem shall remain blank.

7. The form of the ballot paper specified in the Fourth Schedule to the Electoral Act 1992 is modified for the purposes of section 88(2)(cc) of the said Act and set out in the Fifth Schedule hereto.

8. The specified documents for the purposes of section 111 of the Electoral Act 1992 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) shall be accompanied by a further document which establishes the address of the holder in the constituency or electoral area.

9. The Ballot Paper (Photographs and Emblems) Regulations, 2002 ( S.I. No. 16 of 2002 ), the Electoral Regulations, 2002 ( S.I. No. 144 of 2002 ) and the Electoral (Amendment) Regulations 2004 ( S.I. No. 175 of 2004 ) are hereby revoked.

Article 2.

FIRST SCHEDULE Nomination Paper for Dáil 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 declare that I have read the notes on this nomination paper and that—

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

(b) the person has consented to the nomination.

Surname of Candidate

Other Names

Description

Address

Occupation

Name of Political Party, if any

Please use BLOCK LETTERS

3. Please tick (1) or, where (1) is not applicable, (2) or (3) below—

(1) Certificate of Political Affiliation attached,

or

(2) Assentor statutory declarations (30) attached,

or

(3) Deposit of €500 enclosed.

Name and address of person to whom deposit is to be returned—

Name

Address

4. Please tick, as appropriate—

Photographs attached (see paragraph 4 of notes) for inclusion on ballot paper.Yes No

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

Proposer’s Number and polling district letters on Register of Electors for the constituency concerned

Signature:

(Candidate/Proposer)

Address:

Date:

6. 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 nomination paper No. in respect 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 legal interpretation.

Notes on Nomination Paper

(References in parentheses are to the provisions of the Electoral Act 1992 , as amended by the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2007 , unless otherwise stated).

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. Candidate Nomination Procedures

A nomination paper from a candidate of a registered political party must have a certificate of political affiliation attached (see paragraph 3 below).

If no certificate is attached, one or other of the following procedures must be complied with before the expiration of the time for receiving nominations—

(i) the completion of statutory declarations by 30 assentors registered as Dáil electors in the relevant constituency which must be witnessed by a Commissioner for Oaths, a Peace Commissioner, a Notary Public, a member of the Garda Síochána or an official of the registration authority,

or

(ii) the candidate, or someone on his or her behalf, lodging a deposit of €500 with the returning officer.

Under the assentors option, the relevant forms for the making of statutory declarations are available from returning officers and registration authorities. The relevant details of the assentors must be included on the statutory declarations — number (and polling district letters) on the register of Dáil electors in force at the time of assent, address on the register, contact details, the relevant Dáil constituency on the date of assent where he/she is registered, the name and address of the candidate, and the form of prescribed photographic ID produced and any identifying number on it.

Each assentor MUST when making the statutory declaration 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, bank card with a photograph, or a travel document containing name and photograph. One of the documents MUST be produced to the person taking the statutory declaration.

An assent is valid in respect of the constituency in which the assentor’s address at the time of assent is located at election time. The assent may be made at any time but it may only be used at the next general or bye-election in the relevant constituency and it expires when the register current when the statutory declaration was made ceases to be in force, notwithstanding that no such election may have been held by then.

Responsibility lies with the candidate or proposer to secure the necessary assents, to attach the 30 statutory declarations to the nomination paper and to deliver all the documentation to the returning officer by the deadline for receipt of nominations.

An assentor must confirm on the statutory declaration that he or she has not assented to the nomination of any other candidate in the election concerned. Under the Statutory Declarations Act 1938 , a person who knowingly makes a false or misleading statutory declaration in any material respect is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding €2,539 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both. However, a candidate’s nomination will not be invalid where a person assents to the nomination of more than one candidate.

Under the deposits option, a candidate may choose the alternative of making a deposit and, if he or she does not do so and has not opted to secure 30 assents, their candidature will be deemed to have been withdrawn. A candidate, or someone on his or her behalf, may lodge a deposit of €500 with the returning officer before the expiration of the time for receiving nominations. The deposit may be made by means of legal tender or, with the consent of the returning officer, in any other manner. The deposit will be returned in the case of successful candidates, those receiving votes in excess of a quarter of the quota and in certain other circumstances: not being validly nominated, withdrawal of candidature or death. Otherwise, the deposit will be forfeited. (Where the deposit is to be returned, it will be returned to the person making it and the name and address of that person should be entered at 3 on the nomination paper).

All relevant parts of the nomination paper must be completed by all candidates (sections 46,...

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