Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) (Bye-Elections) Act, 1940

The ruling upon nominations and the final statement of nominations.

16.—(1) Where a bye-election order relates to a nominating bodies sub-panel vacancy, the Seanad returning officer shall, at eleven o'clock in the morning on the day appointed by such bye-election order for the ruling upon nominations, attend at the place similarly appointed and then and there hold a sitting (in this Act referred to as the ruling upon nominations) at which he shall rule upon the nominations stated in the certificate of nominations and shall prepare the final statement of nominations.

(2) The following provisions shall apply and have effect in relation to every ruling upon nominations held in pursuance of this section, that is to say:—

(a) the Seanad returning officer shall produce the respective nomination papers handed to him at the nominating meeting of the several persons named in the certificate of nominations;

(b) the Seanad returning officer shall consider and rule upon the validity of the nomination paper, and the nomination purported to be made thereby, of every person named in the certificate of nominations, and shall consider and rule upon the said papers and nominations successively in the order in which the names of the persons purported to be nominated thereby are stated in the certificate of nominations;

(c) the Seanad returning officer shall reject as invalid the nomination of any person in respect of whom he rules that the nomination paper of such person or the nomination purported to be made thereby is invalid or in respect of whom he is not satisfied that such person possesses the qualifications stated in sub-section 1° of section 7 of Article 18 of the Constitution in respect of the panel mentioned in the relevant bye-election order;

(d) when the Seanad returning officer has ruled upon the nomination of a person, he shall, unless he rejects such nomination as invalid, enter the name of that person in a list which is in this Act referred to as the provisional list;

(e) when the names of three persons have been entered in the provisional list such list shall be complete and the Seanad returning officer shall not consider or rule upon the nominations of any persons;

(f) when the provisional list is complete, the Seanad returning officer shall prepare, in accordance with the next following sub-section of this section, and sign the final list of nominations;

(g) if, when all the nominations stated in the certificate of nominations have been ruled upon, no name of any person or the name or names of less than three persons has or have been entered in the provisional list, the proceedings at the ruling upon nominations shall terminate and the Seanad returning officer shall report the fact and the circumstances of such termination to the Minister.

(3) The following provisions shall apply and have effect in relation to the final list of nominations, that is to say:—

(a) the final list of nominations shall contain the names, addresses, and descriptions of the persons whose names are entered in the provisional list;

(b) the name, address, and description of every such person shall be stated in the final list of nominations in the like manner as it is stated in the nomination paper of such person handed to the Seanad returning officer at the nominating meeting;

(c) the final list of nominations shall also contain, in respect of every person whose name is stated therein, a statement, in such form as the Seanad returning officer thinks proper, of the qualifications in respect of the panel mentioned in the bye-election order which he determines to be in fact possessed by such person;

(d) the persons whose names are stated in the final list of nominations shall be arranged in that list in the alphabetical order of their surnames and, in case of identity of surname, of their other names.