The European Parliamentary Elections Regulations 2004

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations apply to England, Wales, Scotland and Gibraltar. They revoke the European Parliamentary Elections Regulations 1999.

Those Regulations made provision dealing with the conduct of the elections, supplementary provisions about the election campaign and registered parties and about what happens where there is a vacancy. They applied the provisions of the Representation of the People Acts and regulations made under them with appropriate modifications, for the purposes of the conduct of European Parliamentary elections and related matters, including the consequences of irregularities and challenges to the result.

Many of the provisions of these Regulations are similar in effect to provisions which were made for the European Parliamentary elections of 1999. However, they also take into account changes in legislation since that time, including the effects of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, the Representation of the People Act 2000 and the European Parliament (Representation) Act 2003.

By virtue of the European Parliament (Representation) Act 2003, provision is made to enable Gibraltar electors, for the first time, to vote in European Parliamentary elections. This requires a number of modifications throughout the Regulations to take account of practical differences. At Schedule 4 provision is also made in relation to the entitlement to vote in Gibraltar and to be on the Gibraltar register of European Parliamentary electors. In addition, a Gibraltar Ordinance will make provision about the maintenance of the Gibraltar register.

Provisions covering absent voting in parliamentary and local government elections have been revised since the last European Parliamentary elections, by the Representation of the People Act 2000, the Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001 and the Representation of the People (Scotland) Regulations 2001. Those changes enabled electors to vote by post more easily and these Regulations reflect those changes, taking a similar approach for European Parliamentary elections.

It is expected that 10 further states will have become part of the European Union by the time of the European Parliamentary election in June 2004. Citizens of those States who are resident in the United Kingdom are to be enabled to vote in those elections, in pursuance of Council Directive 93/109/EC. That Directive provides for citizens of the Union to be able to vote in the Member States in which they reside under similar conditions to the nationals of the State in which they reside. A Transposition Note laid before Parliament with these Regulations sets this out, and how it has been transposed under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972, in more detail. Schedule 5 makes provision about the citizens of Accession States. Other provisions made specifically giving effect to that Directive in relation to existing citizens of the European Union are in regulations 17(2)(b)(iv) and 28(1), rule 9 of Schedule 1, the references to that rule in rules 13(1) and (5)(c), and in paragraphs 12(3)(e), 18(d), 19(1)(b) and 20(1) and (5) of Schedule 4.

The Rules relating to verification and counting of the votes and notification of the local result take into account the amendments to the Act concerning the election of the representatives of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, annexed to Council Decision 77/787/ECSC, EEC, Euratom to be made by Council Decision 2002/772/EC. Once those amendments are in force it will be possible to commence counting the votes before the close of the poll in other Member States, although the result will not be made available to the public until after all polls have closed across Europe.

Other changes as a result of legislation subsequent to the 1999 European Parliamentary elections include: publication of exit polls before the close of poll will be an offence, liable to fine or imprisonment (regulation 30); as the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 now controls campaign expenditure by political parties, the Regulations control the election expenses of individual candidates only (Part 2); controls on broadcasting in the amended section 93 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 will be reflected (regulation 64); provision is made for a tactile voting device to assist visually impaired voters, and for large-print display ballot papers and assistance for voters who are physically incapacitated or unable to read (Schedule 1, rules 30 and 40); and postal voters will be permitted to return postal ballot papers by hand to polling stations in the local counting area (Schedule 2, rule 41).

The Regulations refer to a number of Gibraltar Ordinances. They can be obtained from: Publications, Government Secretariat, No 6 Convent Place, Gibraltar. Telephone: [phone]. Fax: [phone]. email: [e-mail]