Local Elections Regulations, 1995

• Jurisdiction: Ireland

S.I. No. 297 of 1995.
LOCAL ELECTIONS REGULATIONS, 1995.
ARRANGEMENT OF ARTICLES
PART I
PRELIMINARY AND GENERAL
1. Citation.
2. Interpretation.
3. Forms.
PART II
RETURNING OFFICERS
4. Returning officer.
5. General duty of returning officer.
6. Deputy returning officers.
7. Election office.
8. Expenses of returning officer.
9. Mutual assistance.
PART III
MANNER OF VOTING
10. Manner of voting.
PART IV
NOMINATIONS
11. Notice of election.
12. Register of political parties.
13. Necessity for nomination.
14. Nomination of candidates.
15. Deposit by candidates.
16. Return or disposal of deposit.
17. Times for receiving nominations.
18. Delivery of nomination papers.
19. Selection of nomination papers.
20. Ruling on validity of nomination papers.
21. Publication of nominations.
22. Withdrawal of candidature.
23. Publication of withdrawal.
24. Obstruction of nominations.
25. Procedure after nominations.
PART V
AGENTS OF CANDIDATES
26. General provisions as to agents.
27. Officers not to act as agents of candidates, further candidature etc.
PART VI
DEATH OF A CANDIDATE
28. Death of a candidate.
PART VII
POSTAL VOTING
29. Voting by post.
30. Voting by electors referred to in section 14 (c) of Act of 1992.
31. Form of ballot paper and receipt.
32. Presence of agents.
33. Issue of ballot papers to postal voters.
34. Provision of postal voters ballot boxes.
35. Envelopes to be placed in postal voters ballot boxes.
36. Envelopes to be treated as covering envelopes.
37. Procedure at close of poll.
38. Opening of postal voters ballot boxes.
39. Rejected receipts.
40. Ballot papers to be placed in ballot boxes.
41. Duties of returning officer in relation to documents relating to postal voters.
PART VIII
VOTING BY SPECIAL VOTERS
42. Interpretation (Part VIII).
43. Voting by special voters.
44. Special presiding officers.
45. Ballot paper etc. for special voters.
46. Method of voting by special voters.
47. Duties of special presiding officer in relation to covering envelopes and other documents.
48. Duties of returning officer in relation to documents relating to special voters.
PART IX
POLLING ON ISLANDS
49. Polling on islands.
PART X
ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE POLL
50. Notice of the poll.
51. Ballot papers.
52. The official mark.
53. Ballot boxes.
54. Use of Dáil ballot boxes etc.
55. Polling information cards.
56. Use of schools and public premises by returning officer.
57. Polling stations.
58. Presiding officers and poll clerks.
PART XI
THE POLL
59. Opening of the poll.
60. Admission to polling station.
61. Voting by persons employed by returning officer.
62. Authorisation of physically ill or physically disabled elector to vote at another polling station.
63. Procedure for voting.
64. Spoilt ballot papers.
65. Voting by blind, incapacitated and illiterate electors.
66. Alleged personation.
67. Arrest of person committing personation.
68. Maintenance of order in polling station.
69. Obstruction of the poll.
70. Damage to polling station.
71. Destruction etc. of ballot boxes or ballot papers.
72. Duties of presiding officer at close of poll.
73. Right to vote.
PART XII
ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE COUNTING OF THE VOTES
74. Time and place for the counting of the votes.
75. Attendance at the counting of the votes.
76. Preliminary proceedings.
77. Time for the counting of the votes.
78. Conduct of the counting of the votes.
79. Handling of ballot papers by candidates or agents.
PART XIII
RULES FOR THE COUNTING OF THE VOTES
80. Interpretation (Part XIII).
81. First count.
82. The quota.
83. Transfer of surplus.
84. Exclusion of candidate.
85. Transfer of votes.
86. Filling of last vacancies.
87. Recount.
88. Order of election of candidates.
89. Declaration of result of the poll.
90. Return of persons elected.
91. Decision of returning officer.
PART XIV
RETENTION, INSPECTION AND DISPOSAL OF DOCUMENTS
92. Retention and disposal of documents by returning officer.
93. Inspection of ballot papers, etc.
94. Inspection of certain other documents.
PART XV
ELECTORAL OFFENCES
95. Personation.
96. Bribery.
97. Undue influence.
98. Breach of secrecy.
99. Offences relating to ballot boxes, ballot papers, nomination papers, certificates of political affiliation, official marks etc.
100. Disorderly conduct at election meeting.
101. Omission of name and address of printer and publisher from election documents.
102. Nominating or withdrawing a candidate without consent.
103. Forged certificate of political affiliation.
104. False declaration on nomination paper.
105. Officer acting as agent of candidate or furthering a candidature.
106. Obstruction of nomination or poll.
107. Interference with or destruction of postal ballot papers.
108. Obstruction of or interference with electors.
109. Personation agent leaving polling station without permission.
110. Prohibition on voting by person registered as elector when not entitled to be so registered.
111. Unlawful marking of ballot papers by person acting as companion.
112. False statement of withdrawal or death of a candidate.
113. Misleading statement as to process of voting.
114. Handling of ballot papers by candidate or agent.
115. Unauthorised inspection of documents.
116. Limitation of time for prosecution of offence.
117. Penalties.
118. Compensation where certain charge is unjustly made or not prosecuted.
119. Certificate of returning officer to be prima facie evidence.
PART XVI
MISCELLANEOUS
120. Minister to furnish attestation to certain persons.
121. Secrecy.
122. Prohibition of disclosure of vote.
123. Publication of notices.
124. Person elected for more than one local electoral area.
125. Aldermen and councillors.
SCHEDULE
PART I
Form of Nomination Paper
PART II
Form of Certificate of Political Affiliation
PART III
Form of Ballot Paper
S.I. No. 297 of 1995.
LOCAL ELECTIONS REGULATIONS, 1995.
The Minister for the Environment in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 22 of the Local Government Act, 1994 (No. 8 of 1994) hereby makes the following Regulations, a draft of which has been approved by a resolution passed by each House of the Oireachtas:
PART I PRELIMINARY AND GENERAL
	1 Citation.	1. These Regulations may be cited as the Local Elections Regulations, 1995.
	2 Interpretation.	2. (1) In these Regulations, except where the context otherwise requires—
"the Act of 1941" means the Local Government Act, 1941 (No. 23 of 1941);
"the Act of 1992" means the Electoral Act, 1992 (No. 23 of 1992);
"the Act of 1994" means the Local Government Act, 1994 ;
"certificate of political affiliation" has the meaning assigned to it by article 14(5);
"clerk" means, in relation to the corporation of a county or other borough, the council of an urban district or the commissioners of a town, the town clerk;
"deposit" means the sum of money required by article 15 to be deposited with the returning officer by or on behalf of a candidate;
"election" means a local election;
"elector" means, in relation to an election, a person whose name appears in the register as entitled to vote at that election;
"excluded day" means a day which is a Sunday, Good Friday or a day which is a public holiday within the meaning of the Holidays (Employees) Act, 1973 (No. 25 of 1973) or a day which by virtue of a statute or proclamation is a public holiday;
"local authority" means the council of a county, the corporation of a county or other borough, the council of an urban district, or the commissioners of a town;
"local election" means an election held pursuant to the Act of 1994 and these regulations and, for the purpose of article 120, includes elections in Member States of the European Union other than the State and the United Kingdom by direct universal suffrage to appoint the members of the representative council and, where appropriate, under the laws in each such Member State, the head and members of a basic local government unit;
"member" means a member of a local authority and includes a cathaoirleach, leas-chathaoirleach, alderman, councillor and a commissioner of a town;
"Member State" has the meaning it has in the Treaties governing the European Communities (within the meaning of section 1 (as amended, whether before or after the making of these Regulations) of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972));
"the Minister" means the Minister for the Environment;
"personation agent" means a person appointed as an agent under article 26(3);
"polling day" means, in relation to an election, the day fixed under section 21 of the Act of 1994 for the holding of the poll at that election;
"polling place" means a polling place appointed by a scheme in force under section 28 of the Act of 1992;
"postal voters ballot box" means a ballot box provided under article 34 for the reception of covering envelopes returned by postal voters;
"the register" means the register of local government electors within the meaning of section 13 of the Act of 1992;
"secretary" means, in relation to a county council, the county secretary or the officer in whom the functions of the county secretary are vested.
(2) In these Regulations—
( a ) every reference to a meeting or member of a local authority shall, where the local authority is the corporation of a county or other borough, be construed as a reference to a meeting or member of the council established by law in respect of such county or other borough;
( b ) every reference to a particular officer shall be construed as including a reference to any person duly appointed...