| Proceeding |
Time |
| Publication
of Notice of Elections |
Between
Wednesday, 24 March 1999 and Tuesday, 6 April 1999 |
| Delivery
of Nomination Papers |
No
later than 4pm on Tuesday, 13 April 1999 |
| Delivery
of certificate issued by or on behalf of the nominating
officer of a Registered Political Party |
No
later than 4pm on Tuesday, 13 April 1999 |
| Request
for an emblem to be printed on the ballot paper by a
candidate (For the Regional election the emblem to
accompany the submitted Regional List) |
No
later than 4pm on Tuesday, 13 April 1999 |
| The
making of objections to nomination papers (except due to
disqualification under Representation of the People Act
1981) [Scottish Parliament Elections only] |
No
later than 12 noon on Tuesday, 13 April 1999 (or 5pm for
late nominations - see Election Rules) |
| The
making of objections to nomination papers due to
disqualification under Representation of the People Act
1981 [Scottish Parliament Elections only] |
On
Wednesday, 14 April 1999 between 10am and 4pm |
| Delivery
of notices of withdrawals of candidature |
No
later than 4pm on Tuesday, 13 April 1999 (Scottish
Parliament)
No later than 4pm on Thursday 15 April 1999 (Local
Government) |
| Publication
of statement of persons nominated |
As
soon as possible after objections have been dealt with
(Scottish Parliament)
No later than Thursday, 29 April 1999 (Local Government) |
| Last
day for receipt of absent voting applications |
No
later than 5pm on Tuesday, 20 April 1999 |
| Last
day for receipt of late absent voting applications on
unforeseen physical illness |
No
later than 5pm on Tuesday, 27 April 1999 |
| Last
day for the appointment of Polling and Counting agents |
No
later than Wednesday, 28 April 1999 (Scottish Parliament)
No later than Thursday, 29 April 1999 (Local Government) |
| Polling |
Between
the hours of 7am and 10pm on Thursday, 6 May 1999 |
| Verification
and Count of the Scottish Parliament elections |
As
soon practicable after the close of polls, Thursday, 6
May 1999 |
| Local
Government elections counts. |
Not
to commence before 10am on the day after the elections,
Friday, 7 May 1999 |
| |
| In computing
any period of time for the purposes of the timetable, the
following days are disregarded: Saturdays, Sundays,
Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Maundy Thursday (Local
Government only), Good Friday, Easter Monday (Scottish
Parliament only), bank holidays and any day appointed for
public thanksgiving or mourning in Scotland. |
| |
| Requirement for Secrecy |
| All staff
appointed by Returning Officers must be issued with
sub-sections (1), (2), (3), (4) and (6) of article 29 of
the Scottish Parliament (Elections Etc) Order 1999.
Copies of these sub-sections are appended to "IN THE
POLLING STATION" and "IN THE COUNTING
CENTRE". |
| |
| Delivery
of Nominations |
The
nomination papers for the Scottish Parliament elections
will not require the support of
proposer, seconder or assenter.
They must however be signed by the candidate and one
witness.
The nomination paper must contain the full name and
address of the witness.
|
| |
| Nomination
papers for the Constituency elections must be delivered
to the Returning Officer. Nomination papers for the
Regional elections must be delivered to the Regional
Returning Officer and Local Government candidates'
nomination papers must be delivered to the Local
Government Returning Officer. |
| Nomination
papers for the Local Government elections require, as
normal, a proposer, seconder and 8 assenters. |
| |
| Registration
of Political Parties Act |
| The Register
of Political Parties is maintained by the Registrar of
Political Parties at Companies House. The address is: The
Registrar of Political Parties, Companies House, Crown
Way, Cardiff CF4 3UZ; telephone number: 01222-380380, Fax
01222-380149. The Registrar's website address is www.party_register.gov.uk. The Register will be kept up to
date on the website, so it can be checked by returning
officers, parties, candidates and anyone else with an
interest. |
| Prior to the
elections on 6 May 1999, each Returning Officer will
receive, automatically and free of charge, from the
Registrar a hard copy of the Register. This will give you
details of the names, emblems and names of registered
nominating officers of all the parties which are
registered at the latest date for publication of the
notice of election. Parties which register after this
date will not count as registered for the purpose of the
elections concerned. |
| |
| Nomination
Procedures |
| Nomination
papers for Constituency Candidates and Individual
Regional Candidates at Scottish Parliament elections
containing a description which is the same as a political
party's registered name or which, in the Returning
Officer's view, could lead voters to associate them with
a registered political party must, if they are to
be accepted, be supported by a certificate of
authorisation issued by or on behalf of that party's
registered nominating officer received by the Returning
Officer within the time allowed for the delivery of
nomination papers. Individual Regional Candidates may not
use a description which could lead them to be associated
with a registered political party. |
| The
certificate of authorisation can be issued by someone
else, provided that they are authorised to do so by the
party's registered nominating officer. Returning Officers
will need to be satisfied that a person issuing a
certificate authorising a candidate's description on
behalf of a registered nominating officer is authorised
to do so. Returning Officers will need to ask those
issuing certificates on behalf of nominating officers to
provide some evidence of delegation (for example a letter
from the registered nominating officer) if none were
provided with or in advance of the certificate.
Photocopied letters would be acceptable. |
| It is an
offence for anyone fraudulently to purport to be
authorised to issue a certificate by the party's
registered nominating officer. Such a certificate would
be of no effect. A certificate purporting falsely to be
signed by the nominating officer personally would
similarly be a nullity. |
| A nomination
paper containing a candidate's description which could,
in the Returning Officer's view, lead voters to associate
them with a registered political party but which is not
supported by a certificate of authorisation received
within the time allowed for delivery of nominations will
not be acceptable. |
| Certain
reports claiming that candidates will no longer be able
to describe themselves as independent were based on a
misunderstanding of the Registration of Political Parties
(Prohibited Words and Exprerssions) Order 1998. The Order
applies to words used in the registered names of parties,
not to words used in the descriptions used by individual
candidates. The Order prevents the "Independent
Party" or, for example, the "Independent
Conservative Party" from registering to ensure that
the word "independent" remains available for
individual candidates to use in their descriptions if
they so wish. |
| At elections
to the Scottish Parliament only registered political
parties are allowed to put forward lists of candidates.
Any nomination paper for a list of candidates which is
not signed by or on behalf of the registered nominating
officer of a registered political party will be invalid.
Such nomination should also contain the name (not
exceeding six words in length) by which the party wishes
to be known at the election. This need not be the
registered name, but may not be one which would lead the
party to be associated with another registered party _
otherwise the list may be held invalid. A list containing
more than 12 names will also be held invalid. |
| |
| Summary |
| The
questionnaire below should assist you in deciding whether
a nomination paper is acceptable. |
| |
| Is the
description on the nomination paper likely to lead voters
to associate that candidate with a registered political
party? |
| |
| A proposed
description does not have to be identical to that of a
registered political party for the appropriate Returning
Officer to take the view that the electorate might
associate the candidate with the party in question. For
example, a name such as "Literal Democrat"
which is very similar to that of another political party
would be likely to lead voters to associate the candidate
with a registered party (Liberal Democrat). A candidate
describing himself/herself as a "Tory" is
likely to be associated by voters with the Conservative
Party, and a candidate describing himself/herself as
"Scottish Labour" with the Labour Party.
However, a Returning Officer would probably consider that
voters would not be likely to associate a candidate
describing himself/herself as "independent
Conservative" or "unofficial Labour" with
the Conservative or Labour Party respectively. |
| If the
answer is NO, there is no reason to declare that
the nomination is unacceptable. |
| If the
answer is YES then ask: |
| |
| Is there
a certificate of authorisation from that party's
registered nominating officer or issued by someone
authorised to act on his behalf? |
| |
| If the
answer is NO, the nomination paper will be
unacceptable. |
| If the
answer is YES, there is no reason to declare that
the nomination is unacceptable. |
| The
certificate must authorise the precise description chosen
by the candidate. A Labour Party candidate, for example,
might choose to describe himself/herself as
"Labour", "the Scottish Labour Party
candidate", "official Labour" etc. |
| If the
Returning Officer considers that a nomination paper is
unacceptable they must give a decision to that effect as
soon as practicable after the close of the period for the
delivery of nomination papers. Notwithstanding this, it
would be appropriate for such a Returning Officer to
inform anyone delivering the nomination paper without a
certificate (where required) that they will hold the
nomination paper unacceptable at the appropriate time
unless they receive a valid certificate. |
| |
| Registered
Party Emblems |
| A candidate
whose nomination is supported by a certificate of
authorisation issued by, |
| or on behalf
of, a party's registered nominating officer can request,
in writing, to have that party's emblem, or one of them,
printed next to their name and other particulars on the
ballot paper. Note that the request is to be made by the
candidate personally, not their agent or the registered
nominating officer. Where a party has more than one
registered emblem, the candidate must specify which
emblem they wish to use. |
| In the case
of a registered party's list of candidates, the
registered nominating officer may request the inclusion
of the party's emblem, or one of them, on the ballot
paper. |
| The emblems
of registered political parties will not appear on
the statements of persons nominated. |
| Provided
that the description on the nomination paper is
authorised by a certificate from the party's registered
nominating officer (or an authorised person acting on
their behalf) and the Returning Officer has
received the written request for the inclusion of the
party's registered emblem (or one of them) within the
time allowed for delivery of nominations, they must
arrange for that emblem to be printed on the ballot
paper. Many candidates, or their parties, will be able to
provide good quality copies of their emblems for use in
printing on ballot papers. Where this artwork is not
available, however, the emblem should be reproduced from
the version shown in your copy of the Register of
Political Parties. |
| The
candidate or registered nominating officer may request
that (one of) their party's registered emblems be printed
on the ballot paper. They are not entitled to use a
variation on a registered emblem. Where an emblem is
annexed to the request (for example to use in printing
the ballot paper), it is essential that it is an accurate
copy of one of the emblems registered. |
| |
| Deposits |
| The deposit
for Constituency candidates will be £500 (to be
deposited with the Returning Officer) and will be
returned if the candidate receives more than 5% of the
total valid votes cast in that Constituency. The deposit
for each Political Party or Individual Candidate on the
Regional ballot paper will be £500 (to be deposited with
the Regional Returning Officer). This is to be returned
if they win over 5% of the valid votes in the Region or
if they are allocated a Regional seat despite having less
than 5% of the valid votes within that Region. |
| The payment
can be made in any legal tender or by banker's draft. The
appropriate Returning Officer however may refuse to
accept a banker's draft if they do not know that the
drawer carries on business in the UK. With the consent of
the appropriate Returning Officer it may be made in
another manner (e.g. by registered cheque) and it can be
made by anyone. |
| There is no
requirement for a deposit by candidates in Local
Government elections. |
| |
| Ballot Papers |
| Printing of
Scottish Parliament Constituency ballot papers (PURPLE)
is the responsibility of the Returning Officer. Printing
of Local Government ballot papers (WHITE) is the
responsibility of the Local Government Returning Officer.
The Local Government ballot paper will be similar in
layout to the purple Scottish Parliament Constituency
ballot paper shown in the introduction. It is a matter
for the Returning Officer and the Regional Returning
Officer to determine responsibility for the printing of
the Regional ballot paper (PEACH). |
| Emblems
printed on Constituency ballot papers and Local
Government ballot papers should be printed at 2cm square
(unless there is a request for them to be smaller) and
must be printed next to the candidate's particulars. |
| On Regional
ballot papers the emblems should be printed at 2 cm
square (unless there is a request for them to be smaller)
and printed next to the Party's name on the ballot paper. |
| |
| Official
Mark |
| The pin
pattern for the official mark to be stamped on ballot
papers should be the same for each election but must not
have been used in any similar (ie. local government)
election within the previous 7 years. The pin pattern for
postal ballot papers should similarly be the same for
each type of ballot paper but should be different from
that used for the ordinary ballot papers. |
| |
| Equipment and Supplies |
| It is the
responsibility of the Returning Officer to make sure that
there is sufficient equipment supplied to each polling
station. |
| Below is an illustrative
list of polling station supplies and equipment. |
| Illustrative
Polling Station Supplies Check list |
- 3 colour coded Ballot
boxes
|
|
Seals for the Ballot
boxes
|
|
Polling Booths, incl.
for disabled voters
|
|
Tables and Chairs
|
|
The Register of
Electors
|
|
The List of Postal
Voters
|
|
The List of Proxy
Voters
|
|
The List of Postal
Proxy Voters (where appropriate)
|
|
Ordinary Ballot
Papers (3)
|
|
Tendered Ballot
Papers (3)
|
|
A Stamping Instrument
|
|
"Presiding
Officer's Sundries" - Pencils, String,
Drawing Pins, Scissors, Sealing Wax, Blu-tac etc.
|
|
Information Poster
about different types of ballot papers
|
|
Notice for Voting
signs
|
|
Stamping of Ballot
Papers notices
|
|
Polling station Signs
|
|
Way In/Way Out Signs
|
|
"Guidance for
Voters" Signs
|
|
Official Forms
including:
|
| I. The
Ballot Paper Accounts (3) |
| II.
Declaration to be made by Companions of Blind Voters |
| III. List of
Blind Voters Assisted by Companions |
| IV. List of
Tendered Votes |
| V. List of
Votes Marked by the Presiding Officer |
| VI.
Statement of the number of voters whose votes marked by
the Presiding Officer |
- Official
Packets/Envelopes for:
|
| i. Unused
and Spoilt Ballot Papers (both Ordinary & Tendered) |
| ii.
Counterfoils of all Used and Spoilt Ballot Papers and
Certificates of Employment |
| iii.
Tendered Ballot Papers |
| iv. The
Ballot Paper Accounts |
| v. The
Marked Copies of the Register of Electors and List of
Proxies |
| vi. The List
of Tendered Votes (1), List of Blind Voters Assisted by
Companions (1), List of Votes Marked by the Presiding
Officer (1), and Declarations made by Companions of Blind
Voters (1) |
|
|
|
Notice of Poll and
Guidance for Voters and Notice for Voters in
ethnic minority languages
|
|
Large Sample Ballot
Papers for Voters with poor eyesight
|
|
List of Streets for
the Polling Station
|
|
List of Polling
Stations in the area
|
|
A second Stamping
Instrument
|
|
Table Signs
|
|
Map with directions
to the Verification/Counting Centre
|
|
List of Caretakers'
names, telephone numbers and addresses
|
|
Emergency telephone
numbers
|
|
Guidance from
Returning Officers regarding conduct of Polling
Agents and Tellers
|
|
A Form for turnout
|
|
Identification
badges.
|
|
Inland Revenue forms
(P528)
|
|
Spare envelopes
|
