Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 1986

Amendment of First Schedule to European Assembly Elections Act, 1977.

18.—Rule 10 of the First Schedule to the European Assembly Elections Act, 1977 is hereby amended by—

(a) the insertion after paragraph (1) of the following paragraph:

“(1A) The returning officer shall object to the name of a candidate in a nomination paper 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 unnecessarily 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.”,

and

(b) the insertion in paragraph (3) after “unnecessarily long” of “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” and the said paragraph, as so amended, is set out in the Table to this paragraph.

TABLE

(3) 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. Where a 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.