Representation of the People Act 1983

Subscription of nomination paper U.K.

7 (1) The nomination paper shall be subscribed by two electors as proposer and seconder, and by eight other electors as assenting to the nomination.

(2) Where a nomination paper bears the signatures of more than the required number of persons as proposing, seconding or assenting to the nomination of a candidate, the signature or signatures (up to the required number) appearing first on the paper in each category shall be taken into account to the exclusion of any others in that category.

(3) The nomination paper shall give the electoral number of each person subscribing it.

(4) The returning officer—

(a) shall supply any elector with a form of nomination paper at the place and during the time for delivery of nomination papers, and

(b) shall at any elector’s request prepare a nomination paper for signature,

but it is not necessary for a nomination to be on a form supplied by the returning officer.

(5) A person shall not subscribe more than one nomination paper at the same election and, if he does, his signature shall be inoperative on any paper other than the one first delivered, but he shall not be prevented from subscribing a nomination paper by reason only of his having subscribed that of a candidate who has died or withdrawn before delivery of the first mentioned paper.

(6) In this rule—

• “elector” means a person—

(a) who is registered as a parliamentary elector in the constituency in the register to be used at the election, or

(b) who, pending the publication of that register, appears from the electors lists for that register as corrected by the registration officer to be entitled to be so registered.

and accordingly includes a person shown in the register or electors lists as below voting age if it appears from it that he will be of voting age on the day fixed for the poll, but not otherwise; and

“electoral number” means—

(i)

a person’s number in that register, or

(ii)

pending the publication of the register, his number (if any) in the electors lists for that register.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 Sch. 1 rules 6, 7, 8 applied with modifications (N.I.) by S.I. 1986/2250, regs. 2, 3, 5, Sch. 1 Pt. I

C2 Sch. 1 rules 6, 7, 8 applied with modifications (E.W.S.) by S.I. 1986/2209, regs. 2, 3, 5(1)(6)–(8), Sch. 1 Pt. I