Representation of the People (Scotland) Regulations 2001

[F1 Overseas electors: supplemental provision as to attestations and the meaning of “qualifying attestor” S

26I.— (1) An attestation of previous residence pursuant to regulation 26E(2), an attestation of registration status pursuant to regulation 26F(2)(b), an attestation of local connection pursuant to regulation 26G(3)(b), or an attestation of relevant address connection pursuant to regulation 26H(3) must—

(a) be in writing and signed by a qualifying attestor;

(b) state the qualifying attestor’s full name, date of birth, occupation, residential address and (if different) the address in respect of which the qualifying attestor is registered as an elector;

(c) state—

(i) where the qualifying attestor is registered in pursuance of an overseas elector’s declaration, the attestor’s British or Irish passport number together with its date and place of issue;

(ii) otherwise—

(aa) where the qualifying attestor is registered in respect of an address in Northern Ireland and has been allocated a digital registration number in accordance with section 10B of the 1983 Act (register of electors in Northern Ireland: digital registration number), that digital registration number,

(bb) in all other cases, the qualifying attestor’s electoral number,

(d) include an explanation as to the qualifying attestor’s ability to confirm that the applicant met the relevant requirement, including (but not limited to) the qualifying attestor’s connection to the applicant and the length of time that that connection has existed;

(e) include—

(i) an indication that the qualifying attestor is aware of section 13D(1) of the 1983 Act (offence of provision of false information to a registration officer), and

(ii) a declaration by the qualifying attestor that all of the information provided in the attestation is true;

(f) state the date on which it is made.

(2) An attestation of relevant address connection pursuant to regulation 26H(3) may be combined with—

(a) an attestation of registration status pursuant to regulation 26F(2)(b), or

(b) an attestation of local connection pursuant to regulation 26G(3)(b),

where the qualifying attestor for each attestation is the same person.

(3) In this regulation, and in regulations 26E, 26F, 26G and 26H, a “qualifying attestor” is a person—

(a) who is aged 18 or over,

(b) who is not the spouse, civil partner, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, child or grandchild of the applicant,

(c) who is registered as an elector,

(d) except where the person is registered in pursuance of an overseas elector’s declaration, whom the registration officer is satisfied is of good standing in the community, and

(e) who has not already signed attestations to which paragraph (4) applies for two other applicants since, whichever is the later,—

(i) the date on which the revised register in which the attestor’s name appears was last published under section 13(1) of the 1983 Act; or

(ii) the date on which a notice specifying the attestor’s entry in the register was issued under (as the case may be) section 13A(2), 13AB(2), 13B or 13BC of that Act (and if there has been more than one such notice, the date on which the last one was issued).

(4) This paragraph applies to an attestation made in accordance with any of—

(a) regulations 26E to 26H, F2 ...

(b) regulations 26E to 26H of the Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001 [F3 , and

(c) regulations 25C and 27ZC to 27ZF of the Representation of the People (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2008.]]

Textual Amendments

F1 Regs. 26C-26J inserted (16.1.2024) by The Representation of the People (Overseas Electors etc.) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/1406), regs. 1(2), 10(8) (with Sch. 2 para. 2(d))

F2 Word in reg. 26I(4)(a) omitted (16.1.2024) by virtue of The Representation of the People (Overseas Electors etc.) (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/43), regs. 1(1), 23(3)(a) (with reg. 27(1))

F3 Reg. 26I(4)(c) and word inserted (16.1.2024) by The Representation of the People (Overseas Electors etc.) (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/43), regs. 1(1), 23(3)(b) (with reg. 27(1))