Northern Ireland Assembly Elections Act 2003

2003 CHAPTER 3

An Act to make provision about the date of the poll for the election of the next Northern Ireland Assembly, and for disregarding certain days for the purposes of the period after a poll within which an Assembly must meet; and for connected purposes.

[20th March 2003]

Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

1 Dates of election, etc U.K.

(1) The Northern Ireland (Date of Next Assembly Poll) Order 2001 (SI 2001/3959) is revoked.

(2) In section 31 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 (c. 47) (“the 1998 Act”), which provides for dates of Assembly elections and dissolutions, etc—

(a) F1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(b) in subsection (3), “or (2)”is omitted,

(c) in subsection (5), at the end there is added “, as shall any day on which section 1 of the Northern Ireland Act 2000 is in force”.

(3) F2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4) F2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(5) F2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(6) F2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(7) Subsection (1) does not revive any duty of the Secretary of State under section 32 of the 1998 Act (which provides for extraordinary elections) which he has already discharged.

(8) In this section, “Assembly” means Northern Ireland Assembly.

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 1(2)(a) repealed (15.5.2003) by Northern Ireland Assembly (Elections and Periods of Suspension) Act 2003 (c. 12), s. 1(5)

F2 S. 1(3)-(6) repealed (15.5.2003) by Northern Ireland Assembly (Elections and Periods of Suspension) Act 2003 (c. 12), s. 1(5)

2 Short title U.K.

This Act may be cited as the Northern Ireland Assembly Elections Act 2003.