The Representation of the People (Northern Ireland) (Amendment) Regulations 1998

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Representation of the People (Northern Ireland) Regulations 1986 and extend to Northern Ireland only. The Regulations amended provide for absent voting applications for parliamentary elections in Northern Ireland and are applied for the purposes of European Parliamentary elections there.

Regulation 69 of those Regulations sets out the time by which applications relating to absent voting must be received by the registration officer in order to be effective at a particular election. Regulation 3 of these Regulations brings forward the deadline for most such applications from 5 p.m. on the eleventh working day before the day of the poll to 5 p.m. on the fourteenth working day. Regulation 2(a) makes a consequential amendment.

Paragraphs (4) to (7) of regulation 66 of the 1986 Regulations concern applications for an absent vote at a particular election which are made on grounds relating to health. Regulation 2(b) of these Regulations requires the person attesting such an application to state that he has seen the applicant in connection with the circumstances relating to the applicant’s health on which the application is based.

Regulation 4 of these Regulations corrects a minor error.