# European Parliamentary Elections (Northern Ireland) (Amendment) Regulations 1999, Note: Explanatory note


(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations amend the European Parliamentary Elections (Northern Ireland) Regulations 1986 (“the 1986 Regulations”).
Amongst the provisions which Schedule 1 to the 1986 Regulations applies, with modifications, for the purposes of European Parliamentary elections in Northern Ireland are the parliamentary elections rules in Schedule 1 to the Representation of the People Act 1983. These rules were amended by Schedule 2 to the Registration of Political Parties Act 1998 to make fresh provision about the use of a description resembling the name of a political party registered under that Act and the inclusion of a registered emblem of such a party against a candidate’s name on the ballot paper. Paragraphs (12), (15) and (16) of regulation 6 of, and the Schedule to, these Regulations take account of those amendments and provide a new form of ballot paper.
Regulations 3, 4 and 7 and paragraphs (6), (8), (10), (13) and (14) of regulation 6 reflects changes of terminology and other amendments made by the European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999.
The provision made in respect of by-elections in regulation 5 is consequential on the replacement of the existing provision in paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 to the European Parliamentary Elections Act 1978 by an amendment in the 1999 Act which delegated provision about by-elections to subordinate legislation.
Of the other amendments made by these Regulations, there is an increase from £5 to £5,000 in the amount that a person not authorised by the election agent of a candidate can spend in promoting or procuring the election of a candidate. This change is made by regulation 6(4) and is intended to bring the law into line with a decision of the European Court of Human Rights. The limits on a candidate’s election expenses are increased by regulation 6(5).

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/1999/0110824628/note (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/draft-european-parliamentary-elections-northern-ireland-amendment-regulations-1999/note
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.