Representation of the People Act 1983

91 Candidate’s right to send election address post free. U.K.

[F1(1)A candidate at a parliamentary election is, subject to Post Office regulations, entitled to send free of charge for postage either—

(a)one unaddressed postal communication, containing matter relating to the election only and not exceeding 60 grammes in weight, to each place in the constituency which, in accordance with those regulations, constitutes a delivery point for the purposes of this subsection; or

(b)one such postal communication addressed to each elector.]

(2)He is also, subject as mentioned above, entitled to send free of any charge for postage to each person entered in the list of proxies for the election one such communication as mentioned above for each appointment in respect of which that person is so entered.

(3)A person shall not be deemed to be a candidate for the purposes of this section unless he is shown as standing nominated in the statement of persons nominated, but until the publication of that statement any person who declares himself to be a candidate shall be entitled to exercise the right of free postage conferred by this section if he gives such security as may be required by the Post Office for the payment of postage should he not be shown as standing nominated as mentioned above.

(4)For the purposes of this section, “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 in 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 that register or those lists that he will be of voting age on the day fixed for the poll, but not otherwise.

Textual Amendments

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1S. 91 applied with modifications (N.I.) by S.I. 1986/2250, regs. 2, 3, 5, Sch. 1 Pt. I

C2S. 91 applied with modifications (E.W.S.) by S.I. 1986/2209, regs. 2, 3, 5(1)(6)–(8), Sch. 1 Pt. I

C3S. 91 applied (with modifications) (N.I.) (4.5.1996) by S.I. 1996/1220, art. 3(1)(5)-(8), Sch. 1

S. 91 applied (with modifications) (N.I.) (25.4.1998) by S.I. 1998/1126, art. 6, Sch. 2