Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2001

Amendment of section 121 of Principal Act.

29.—Section 121 of the Principal Act is amended by—

(a) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (8):

“(8) The returning officer shall not transfer the surplus of a candidate deemed to be elected whenever that surplus, together with any other surplus not transferred, is less than both the difference between the quota and the number of votes credited to the highest continuing candidate and the difference between the numbers of the votes credited to the two lowest continuing candidates and either—

(a) the number of votes credited to the lowest candidate is greater than one quarter of the quota or, in the case of a bye-election where there is more than one vacancy to be filled in a constituency, one quarter of what would have been the quota were the full number of members of the Dáil for the existing constituency to be elected, or

(b) the sum of the number of votes credited to the lowest candidate together with that surplus and any other surplus not transferred is not greater than one quarter of the quota or, in the case of a bye-election where there is more than one vacancy to be filled in a constituency, one quarter of what would have been the quota were the full number of members of the Dáil for the existing constituency to be elected.”,

and

(b) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (11):

“(11) Subject to subsections (8) and (9), where two or more candidates have each an equal surplus arising from different counts, a surplus which arises at the end of any count shall be transferred before a surplus which arises at a subsequent count.”.