E1Part II Local Government Areas and Authorities in Wales
Members of principal councils
26 Elections of councillors.
1
The ordinary elections of county councillors shall take place in 1973 and every fourth year thereafter, their term of office shall be four years and they shall retire together in every such fourth year on the fourth day after the ordinary day of election of county councillors, and in and after 1977 the newly elected councillors shall come into office on the day on which their predecessors retire.
2
Subject to subsection (3) below, a district council may in pursuance of the requisite resolution request the Secretary of State to provide—
a
for a system of whole council elections, that is to say, the holding of the ordinary elections of all the councillors of the district simultaneously; or
b
for a system of elections by thirds, that is to say, the election of one-third, as nearly as may be, of the councillors of the district at the ordinary elections of such councillors in any year;
indicating, in the case of a request under paragraph (b) above, those areas, if any, in which there should, and those, if any, in which there should not, be wards each returning a number of councillors which is divisible by three.
In this subsection “the requisite resolution” means in the case of a resolution passed before 1st April 1974 a resolution passed by a majority, and in the case of a resolution passed on or after that date a resolution passed by not less than two-thirds, of the members voting thereon at a meeting of the council specially convened for the purpose with notice of the object.
3
A resolution may not be passed under subsection (2) above within ten years of a previous resolution thereunder.
4
Where the Secretary of State receives a request under subsection (2)(a) above from a district council or does not before 1st April 1974 receive a request from a district council under subsection (2)(b) above, he may make an order providing for the ordinary elections of all the district councillors to be held simultaneously and the order may contain the like provision, and shall be treated, as if made under section 58 below.
5
Where the Secretary of State receives a request under subsection (2)(b) above from a district council he may ask the Welsh Commission to make proposals in the light of the request with respect to—
a
the number, boundaries and names of the wards into which the district should be divided and the number of councillors to be elected for each ward;
b
the order of retirement of councillors elected for wards not returning a number of councillors which is divisible by three;
and, where the Commission have not completed their review of the electoral arrangements for the district under paragraph 10 of Schedule 10 to this Act, they shall as part of that review consider the proposals to be made under this subsection and, in any other case, sections 59, 60 and 61 below shall apply to the consideration by the Commission of any such proposals as they apply to their conduct of a review under section 57 below and any such proposals shall be treated as if made under section 58 below.
6
The ordinary elections of district councillors shall take place—
a
except where an order is in force providing for the election of district councillors by thirds, in 1973, 1976, 1979 and every fourth year thereafter; and
b
where such an order is in force, in the year when the order comes into force and every year thereafter other than a year of election of county councillors.
7
The following provisions of this subsection shall, subject to the provisions of any order made under or by virtue of this section, have effect with respect to district councillors—
a
their term of office shall be three years in the case of the councillors elected at the ordinary elections in 1973 and 1976 and four years in the case of those elected at ordinary elections held thereafter;
b
except where an order is in force providing for the election of councillors by thirds, the whole number of the councillors shall retire together in every ordinary year of election of such councillors on the fourth day after the ordinary day of election of such councillors, and in and after 1976 the newly elected councillors shall come into office on the day on which their predecessors retire; and
c
where such an order is in force, one-third of the whole number of the councillors in each ward returning a number of councillors which is divisible by three and, as nearly as may be, one-third of the whole number of the councillors in the other wards, being those who have been councillors of the district for the longest time without re-election, shall retire in every ordinary year of election of such councillors on the fourth day after the ordinary day of election of such councillors, and in every such year the newly elected councillors shall come into office on the day on which their predecessors retire.
Part II (ss. 20-38) extends to Wales only: see s. 38