Paragraph 58 Ascertainment of results at a contested regional election

Changes not yet applied. Later legislation changes this provision in ways not yet written into the text below:

Sch. 5 modified by National Assembly for Wales (Representation of the People) 2003 Sch. 4 Pt. 2
Sch. 5 para. 12(5) words substituted by Civil Partnership Act 2004 (Amendments to Subordinate Legislation) 2005 art. 2(11) Sch. 11 para. 1(7)(a)
Sch. 5 para. 40(5)(a) words substituted by Civil Partnership Act 2004 (Amendments to Subordinate Legislation) 2005 art. 2(11) Sch. 11 para. 1(7)(b)
Sch. 5 para. 40(5)(b) words substituted by Civil Partnership Act 2004 (Amendments to Subordinate Legislation) 2005 art. 2(11) Sch. 11 para. 1(7)(c)
Sch. 5 para. 40(6)(a) words substituted by Civil Partnership Act 2004 (Amendments to Subordinate Legislation) 2005 art. 2(11) Sch. 11 para. 1(7)(d)
Sch. 5 para. 40(6)(b) words substituted by Civil Partnership Act 2004 (Amendments to Subordinate Legislation) 2005 art. 2(11) Sch. 11 para. 1(7)(e)
Sch. 5 para. 44(3)(b) words substituted by Civil Partnership Act 2004 (Amendments to Subordinate Legislation) 2005 art. 2(11) Sch. 11 para. 1(7)(f)
Sch. 5 para. 49(7)(b) words substituted by Civil Partnership Act 2004 (Amendments to Subordinate Legislation) 2005 art. 2(11) Sch. 11 para. 1(7)(g)
Sch. 5 para. 50(1) words substituted by National Assembly for Wales (Representation of the People) 2006 art. 8(a)
Sch. 5 para. 50(6A)(6B) inserted by National Assembly for Wales (Representation of the People) 2006 art. 8(b)

(1)

At a contested regional election, the regional returning officer shall make arrangements for ascertaining the results of the poll in accordance with sections 5 to 7 of the 1998 Act as soon as practicable after he has—

(a)

given the certification required by paragraph 56(2), and

(b)

subject to paragraph 65(3), received the notification required by paragraph 57(3) from each constituency returning officer for an Assembly constituency in the Assembly electoral region.

(2)

At a contested regional election the regional returning officer shall give notice in writing to the election agents and to each constituency returning officer for an Assembly constituency in the Assembly electoral region for which the election is held of the place at which he will begin to ascertain the results of the poll (together with such other information as he considers appropriate).

(3)

No person other than—

(a)

the regional returning officer and his clerks,

(b)

the candidates,

(c)

the election agents, or

(d)

the constituency returning officer for any Assembly constituency in the Assembly electoral region for which the election is held,

may be present at the ascertainment of the results, unless permitted by the regional returning officer to attend.

(4)

A person not entitled to attend at the proceedings shall not be permitted to do so by the regional returning officer unless he—

(a)

is satisfied that the efficient ascertainment of the results will not be impeded, and

(b)

has either consulted the election agents or thought it impracticable to do so.

(5)

The regional returning officer shall give the election agents and candidates all such reasonable facilities for overseeing the proceedings, and all such information with respect to them, as he can give them consistently with the orderly conduct of the proceedings and the discharge of his duties in connection with them.

(6)

The regional returning officer shall provisionally ascertain the results of the poll and notify that provisional ascertainment to such of the following persons who are present, namely—

(a)

an individual candidate or his election agent, and

(b)

the election agent for a group of party list candidates or (in his absence) one of those candidates.

(7)

Where notification under sub-paragraph (6) has been given to any person, having been given a reasonable opportunity to do so, he may require the regional returning officer to provisionally ascertain those results again but the regional returning officer may refuse to do so if in his opinion the request is unreasonable.

(8)

Where the regional returning officer has provisionally ascertained the results again under sub-paragraph (7), sub-paragraphs (6) and (7) and this sub-paragraph shall apply to the further provisional ascertainment.

(9)

If in ascertaining the results of the poll the regional returning officer draws lots in the circumstances referred to in section 7(9) of the 1998 Act, he shall proceed as if the individual candidate or registered political party on whom the lot falls had received an additional vote.

(10)

Subject to sub-paragraphs (6) to (8), the regional returning officer shall be treated as having ascertained the results of the poll following a provisional ascertainment—

(a)

if there is no further provisional ascertainment, after the first one, or

(b)

if there is more than one provisional ascertainment, after the final one.