Article 118 Avoidance of election for employing corrupt agentI1
England and Wales
A candidate is incapable of being elected to fill the vacancy for which the election is held if that candidate, or the election agent—
personally engages as a canvasser or agent, for the conduct or management of the election, another person who has an incapacity to vote at the election, and
knows, or has reasonable grounds to suspect, that person to have an incapacity to vote at the election.
Paragraph (1) applies to the election agent for an individual candidate and the election agent of the registered political party on whose party list the candidate’s name appeared.
For the purpose of paragraph (1), a person is subject to an incapacity to vote if that person is convicted or reported for any corrupt or illegal practice within the meaning of—
this Order,
the 1983 Act,
any enactment relating to elections in the Northern Ireland Assembly or the Scottish Parliament, or
the Electoral Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1962f1.
In relation to party list candidates, the incapacity imposed by paragraph (1) applies when—
the election agent engages the canvasser or agent to each candidate on the party list, or
the party list candidate engages the canvasser or agent only to that candidate.
Subject to paragraph (6), a vote is not deemed to be thrown away so as to entitle another candidate to be declared elected if a vote is given for—
an individual candidate, who at the time of the election was incapable of being elected by virtue of this article, or
a registered political party, where at the time of the election each candidate included on the party’s list was incapable of being elected by virtue of this article.
A vote in paragraph (5) will be deemed to be thrown away when it is given at a poll consequent on the decision of an election court that the candidate was so incapable.
Annotations
Commencement
- I1
Art. 118 in force at 18.7.2025, see art. 1(2)
Footnotes
- f1