Referendum Act, 1994

The provisional referendum certificate.

40.—(1) As soon as the referendum returning officer has received from every local returning officer the report referred to in section 37 of the numbers of the votes recorded in the constituency, the referendum returning officer shall prepare from such reports and shall sign the provisional referendum certificate in the prescribed form stating—

(a) in the case of a constitutional referendum, the number of votes recorded in favour of the proposal which is the subject of the referendum, the number of votes recorded against the proposal, and whether a majority of the votes recorded at the referendum was or was not recorded in favour of the proposal;

(b) in the case of an ordinary referendum, the number of votes recorded in favour of the proposal which is the subject of the referendum, the number of votes recorded against the proposal, and the total number of presidential electors on the register of electors for the time being in force, and if the number of votes recorded against the proposal exceeds the number of votes recorded in favour of the proposal, whether the number of votes recorded against the proposal is or is not less than thirty-three and one third per cent of the said total number of presidential electors, and in any case whether such proposal was or was not vetoed at such referendum;

(c) in every case, the number of votes reported by the local returning officers to have been recorded in each constituency in favour of the proposal which is the subject of the referendum and the number of votes similarly reported to have been recorded in each constituency against the proposal.

(2) As soon as may be after signing the provisional referendum certificate, the referendum returning officer shall publish in Iris Oifigiúil a copy of that certificate together with a statement that such certificate will become final and incapable of being questioned when the officer is informed by the Master of the High Court either that no referendum petition has been duly presented in respect thereof or that every referendum petition so presented has become null and void.

(3) When a provisional referendum certificate has become final otherwise than by being confirmed by the High Court, the referendum returning officer shall endorse on such certificate a statement that it has so become final and shall send a copy thereof to the President and the Taoiseach.

(4) When a provisional referendum certificate has been confirmed or is deemed to have been confirmed by the High Court and is returned to the referendum returning officer with a statement of the fact of such confirmation endorsed thereon in accordance with this Act, the referendum returning officer shall send a copy of such certificate to the President and the Taoiseach.