The National Assembly for Wales (Representation of the People) Order 2007

PART 1General

Citation, commencement and revocation

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the National Assembly for Wales (Representation of the People) Order 2007 and shall come into force on the day after the day on which it is made.

(2) Subject to article 149 and rule 69(2) of Schedule 5, this Order revokes the National Assembly for Wales (Representation of the People) Order 2003(1) and the National Assembly for Wales (Representation of the People) (Amendment) Order 2006(2).

Interpretation

2.—(1) In this Order, except where the context requires otherwise—

“the 1983 Act” means the Representation of the People Act 1983(3);

“the 1985 Act” means the Representation of the People Act 1985(4);

“the 1998 Act” means the Government of Wales Act 1998(5);

“the 2000 Act” means the Representation of the People Act 2000(6);

“the 2000 Political Parties Act” means the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000;

“the 2001 Regulations” means the Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001(7);

“the 2006 Act” means the Government of Wales Act 2006(8);

“the 2007 Assembly general election” means the Assembly general election held in 2007 under section 3 of the 1998 Act;

“absent voter” means an elector who is entitled to vote by proxy or an elector or proxy who is entitled to vote by post;

“anonymous entry” in relation to a register shall be construed in accordance with section 9B of the 1983 Act(9) and “record of anonymous entries” means the record prepared in pursuance of regulations made by virtue of paragraph 8A of Schedule 2 to the 1983 Act(10);

“appropriate returning officer” means a constituency returning officer in relation to a constituency election and a regional returning officer in relation to a regional election;

“the Assembly” means—

and all related expressions shall be construed accordingly; but

“Assembly constituency” is to be construed in accordance with section 2(2) of, and Schedule 1 to, the 1998 Act;

“Assembly election” means a constituency election or a regional election;

“Assembly election petition” means a petition presented in pursuance of Part 4 of this Order;

“Assembly election rules” means the rules for the conduct of Assembly elections set out in Schedule 5;

“Assembly electoral region” is to be construed in accordance with section 2(2) of, and Schedule 1 to, the 1998 Act;

“Assembly general election” means the holding of constituency and regional elections for the return of all Assembly members;

“available for inspection” means available for inspection during ordinary office hours;

“candidate” means a constituency candidate, an individual candidate or a party list candidate;

“the Clerk” shall be construed in accordance with section 26 of the 2006 Act;

“the Commission” means the Electoral Commission established by section 1 of the 2000 Political Parties Act;

“constituency candidate” means a candidate at an Assembly constituency election;

“constituency election” means an election to return an Assembly member for an Assembly constituency;

“constituency returning officer” means the person who is the returning officer for a constituency election;

“constituency vote” means a vote given to a candidate to be an Assembly member for an Assembly constituency;

“declaration as to election expenses” means a declaration made under article 53 or 54;

“disability” in relation to doing a thing, includes the short term inability to do it;

“dwelling” includes any part of a building where that part is occupied separately as a dwelling;

“election to fill a casual vacancy” means a constituency election held otherwise than at an Assembly general election;

“election court” means the judges presiding at the trial of an Assembly election petition;

“elector” means any person whose name is for the time being on the register to be used at an Assembly election, but does not include those shown in the register as below voting age on the day fixed for the poll;

“electoral number” means a person’s number in the register to be used at the election or, pending publication of the register, his number (if any) in the electors lists for that register;

“electoral region vote” means a vote given for—

“European Parliamentary election” has the same meaning as in section 27(1) of the 1985 Act;

“individual candidate” means a candidate at an Assembly regional election other than a party list candidate;

“legal incapacity” includes (in addition, where applicable, to any incapacity arising by virtue of any subsisting provision of the common law) any disqualification imposed by this Order or by any other enactment;

“legal process” means a claim form, application notice, writ, summons or other process;

“the list of proxies” in relation to an Assembly election, has the meaning given by article 10(3),

“local government election” includes a mayoral election;

“mayoral election” means an election for the return of an elected mayor of a local authority in Wales;

“nomination paper” means a constituency nomination paper, an individual nomination paper or a party nomination paper;

“ordinary local government election” means an election at which all the councillors of a county or county borough or community council in Wales are returned

“party list” means a list of not more than twelve candidates (but it may be a list of only one candidate) to be Assembly members for an Assembly electoral region which is to be or has been submitted to a regional returning officer by a registered political party;

“party list candidate” means a candidate included on a party list;

“person” includes (without prejudice to the provisions of the Interpretation Act 1978(13)) an association corporate or unincorporate;

“postal ballot paper” means a ballot paper issued to a postal voter;

“postal proxy” means a person entitled to vote by post as proxy at an election;

“postal voter” means an elector or proxy who is entitled to vote by post;

“postal voters list” means the list kept under article 10(2);

“presiding officer”, in relation to a polling station, means a person holding the office set out in rule 35 of Schedule 5;

“Presiding Officer of the Assembly” shall—

“proxy postal voters list” means the list kept under article 12(8);

“qualifying address” has the same meaning as in section 9(8)(b) of the 1983 Act(14)

“qualifying Commonwealth citizen” means a Commonwealth citizen who is either—

but a person is not a qualifying Commonwealth citizen if he does not require leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom by virtue only of Section 8 of the Immigration Act 1971 (exemptions to requirement for leave in special cases);

“regional election” means an election to return Assembly members for an Assembly electoral region;

“regional returning officer” means the person who is the returning officer for a regional election;

“register” means the register of local government electors;

“registered emblem” means an emblem registered by a registered political party under Part 2 of the 2000 Political Parties Act;

“registered nominating officer” means the person registered under Part 2 of the 2000 Political Parties Act as the officer with responsibility for the matters referred to in section 24(3) of that Act in respect of a registered political party;

“registered political party” means (subject to rule 80 of Schedule 5) a party registered under Part 2 of the 2000 Political Parties Act;

“registration officer” means an electoral registration officer;

“relevant citizen of the Union” means a citizen of the Union who is not a qualifying Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland and “citizen of the Union” shall be construed in accordance with Article 8.1 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (as amended by Title 2 of the Treaty on European Union);

“relevant registration officer” is to be construed in accordance with sections 42(1) and 44(1) to (3) and (5) of the Electoral Administration Act 2006(16);

“service voter” means a person who has made a service declaration in accordance with section 15 of the 1983 Act and is registered or entitled to be registered in pursuance of it;

“sub-agent” has the meaning given by article 38(1);

“universal service provider” shall have the same meaning as in the Postal Services Act 2000(17);

“valid postal voting statement” means a postal voting statement, which, in accordance with paragraph 22 or 23 of Schedule 3, the returning officer is satisfied has been duly completed; and

“voter” means a person voting at an Assembly election and includes a person voting as proxy and, except in Schedule 5, a person voting by proxy, and “vote” (whether noun or verb) shall be construed accordingly, except that in that Schedule any reference to an elector voting or an elector’s vote shall include a reference to an elector voting by proxy or elector’s vote given by proxy, and absent vote shall be construed accordingly.

(2) References in this Order to the giving of two votes refer to the giving of a constituency vote and an electoral region vote where the polls at a constituency election and at a regional election are to be taken together on the same date.

(3) For the purposes of this Order a person shall be deemed not to have attained a given age until the commencement of the relevant anniversary of the day of his birth.