Made | 27th July 2005 | ||
Laid before Parliament | 15th August 2005 | ||
Coming into force | 12th September 2005 |
1. | Citation and commencement |
2. | Interpretation |
3. | Returning Officer |
4. | Independent Scrutineer |
5. | Election by national constituencies |
6. | Eligibility to become a candidate in an election |
7. | Last date for nominations |
8. | Notice of election |
9. | Nominations |
10. | Election statements by candidates and photographs |
11. | Procedure if no candidate nominated |
12. | Procedure if only one candidate nominated |
13. | Basis of election |
14. | Last dates for despatch and return of voting papers |
15. | Entitlement to vote |
16. | Conduct of the ballot |
17. | Postal voting |
18. | Duplicate voting papers |
19. | Exchange of voting papers |
20. | Electronic voting |
21. | Double voting |
22. | Scrutiny of votes |
23. | Death, disqualification or resignation of candidate |
24. | Declaration of result by Returning Officer |
25. | Appointment of Council members |
26. | Casual vacancies |
27. | Commencement of term of office |
28. | Challenge to validity of an election |
29. | Postal disruption and civil contingencies |
(2) Any requirement in these Rules for any nomination, voting paper, electronic vote or other material to be received by the Independent Scrutineer by a date fixed by the Returning Officer or calculated in accordance with these Rules shall be construed as a requirement that it shall be received by her not later than 5.00 pm on that date.
(3) In computing for the purpose of these Rules a period expressed as a period of clear days, no account shall be taken of the day of the event from or to which the period is computed.
Returning Officer
3.
—(1) At least six months before the end of the full term of office of any registrant member or alternate member, the Council shall, as regards the election to be held in respect of that vacancy, appoint a Returning Officer who shall hold office, subject to paragraph (5), until the conclusion of that election (including any re-running of the election following a declaration that the election was void).
(2) Where a by-election becomes necessary to fill a casual vacancy in accordance with rules 11(6)(b), 23(1)(d)(ii) or (3) or 26(5), or a new election becomes necessary under rules 11(2), 23(2)(a) or 28(3), the Council shall appoint a Returning Officer who shall hold office, subject to paragraph (5), until the conclusion of that election (including any re-running of the election following a declaration that the election was void).
(3) The Council may at the same time as it appoints the Returning Officer appoint a Deputy Returning Officer who shall be entitled to carry out the functions of the Returning Officer if she is absent or unable to act.
(4) The persons appointed as Returning Officer or as Deputy Returning Officer may be the Registrar or an employee of the Council, but may not be a member of the Council.
(5) If the Returning Officer or the Deputy Returning Officer dies, resigns, ceases to be able to act or becomes a candidate in the election for which she is appointed, the Council shall appoint a new Returning Officer or Deputy Returning Officer, as the case may be, to act in her place.
(6) The Returning Officer shall be responsible for the conduct of the election for which she is appointed, subject to and in accordance with the provisions of the Order and of these Rules, and shall exercise the functions conferred upon her by these Rules.
(7) The Returning Officer may arrange for the Independent Scrutineer or any other person to carry out on her behalf such administrative functions connected with the election as she considers appropriate.
Independent Scrutineer
4.
—(1) The Council shall, at least five months before the end of the full term of office of any registrant or alternate member of the Council, or upon the need for a by-election or new election arising, appoint an Independent Scrutineer to act in respect of the election to fill the vacancy.
(2) As well as carrying out her other functions set out in these Rules, and any functions she carries out on behalf of the Returning Officer in accordance with rule 3(7), the Independent Scrutineer shall be responsible for—
Election by national constituencies
5.
Each national constituency shall elect three registrant members and three alternate members of the Council, one registrant member and one alternate member being drawn in the case of each national constituency from each of the three parts of the register.
Eligibility to become a candidate in an election
6.
—(1) A registrant may be a candidate for election only if—
(2) The Returning Officer shall reject any nomination which appears to her to be invalid on the ground that the person nominated is not eligible to be a candidate by virtue of this rule.
Last date for nominations
7.
—(1) The Returning Officer appointed for an election shall for that election determine a date ("the last date for nominations"), which shall be at least 42 clear days before the last date for return of voting papers, by which, subject to rules 11(1) and (4), 12(1) and 23(1)(b), nominations for election must be received by the Independent Scrutineer in that election.
(2) Any nomination which is received after the last date for nominations shall be invalid.
Notice of election
8.
—(1) At least 28 clear days before the last date for nominations, the Returning Officer shall give notice of the election.
(2) The notice of election shall be published on the Council's website, and in such journals circulating inside and outside the United Kingdom as the Returning Officer shall determine.
(3) The notice of election shall be in such form as the Returning Officer shall determine and shall state—
Nominations
9.
—(1) Nominations for election shall—
(2) Each nomination form shall be signed by ten registrants—
(3) A nomination form shall contain the following particulars of the candidate to which it relates—
(4) Each nomination form shall be signed by the candidate to whom it relates, who in doing so shall confirm that—
(5) The Independent Scrutineer shall reject any nomination or purported nomination which—
(6) A nomination may be withdrawn at any time until the last date for nominations by a written notification signed by the candidate and addressed to the Returning Officer.
Election statements by candidates and photographs
10.
—(1) A candidate for election may supply to the Independent Scrutineer, not later than the last date for nominations—
(2) Subject to the following provisions of this rule, any election statement and photograph received under paragraph (1) shall be reproduced and circulated by the Returning Officer as part of the election material circulated in accordance with rule 16(2).
(3) This rule shall not require the Returning Officer to circulate any election statement which is of greater length than she has specified, and in the event that an election statement is submitted which is greater in length than the specified maximum, the election statement circulated shall end at the last complete sentence which is within the specified length.
(4) The Returning Officer shall not be required by this rule to circulate an election statement which she considers to be defamatory or otherwise unlawful, or factually misleading, and may either edit the election statement before circulating it or decide not to circulate it.
(5) Any question as to the format or presentation of an election statement when it is circulated shall be decided conclusively by the Returning Officer.
(6) Every candidate who supplies an election statement under paragraph (1) shall be deemed to have agreed—
Procedure if no candidate nominated
11.
—(1) If no candidate has been validly nominated for a vacancy by the last date for nominations, the period for receipt of nominations for the election to fill that vacancy shall be extended by the period of 21 clear days ("the extension period").
(2) If no valid nomination is received for the vacancy within the extension period, the election shall be treated as void, and a new election shall take place.
(3) If two or more valid nominations are received within the extension period, the election shall proceed in accordance with these Rules, but—
(4) If one valid nomination only is received within the extension period, the period for the receipt of nominations for the election shall be extended by a further extension period of 21 clear days ("the further extension period").
(5) If one or more valid nominations are received within the further extension period, the ballot shall proceed in accordance with these Rules, but—
(6) If no other valid nomination is received within the further extension period—
Procedure if only one candidate nominated
12.
—(1) If one candidate only is validly nominated by the last date for nominations, the period for receipt of nomination papers shall be extended in the manner set out in rule 11(1).
(2) If one or more valid nominations are received within the extension period, the ballot shall proceed in accordance with these Rules, but—
(3) If no other valid nomination is received within the extension period—
Basis of election
13.
—(1) If two candidates only have been nominated by the last date for nominations, or by the end of any extension period or further extension period, each elector shall be entitled to vote for one candidate, and—
for the relevant national constituency and part of the register, but if there is a tie in the ballot, the Independent Scrutineer shall determine the result by the drawing of lots.
(2) Where three or more candidates are nominated by the last date for nominations, or by the end of any extension period or further extension period, the ballot shall take place by a single transferable voting system—
(c) which has been published by the Council, in such form and manner as the Council shall determine, at the same time as or before the Returning Officer has given notice of the election.
(3) Subject to paragraph (4), in any ballot that takes place by single transferable voting (other than a by-election ballot for an alternate member only), the candidate who is elected first shall be elected as the registrant member, and the candidate who is elected second as the alternate member, for the relevant national constituency and part of the register.
(4) Where, as a result of paragraph 6(b) of Schedule 2 to the Order, the full terms of office of the registrant and alternate members for the same national constituency and part of the register end on different dates—
(b) as regards the vacancy at the end of the full term of office of the alternate member, it shall be filled by a by-election held in accordance with rule 26(5).
Last dates for despatch and return of voting papers
14.
—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Returning Officer appointed for an election shall for that election determine—
(2) The last date for despatch of voting papers shall be at least 21 clear days before the last date for return of voting papers.
Entitlement to vote
15.
—(1) A registrant may only vote in an election—
(2) The Returning Officer shall have power to determine any question of entitlement to vote by virtue of this rule.
Conduct of the ballot
16.
—(1) If in any election two or more candidates have been nominated by the last date for nominations, or by the end of any extension period or further extension period, the Returning Officer shall not later than the last date for despatch of voting papers send a voting paper and election material to each elector.
(2) The voting paper and the election material shall together include the following—
Postal voting
17.
An elector who wishes to vote by post shall—
Duplicate voting papers
18.
The Independent Scrutineer may, on being satisfied by a request from an elector that the original voting paper sent to her has been lost, destroyed or damaged, send a duplicate voting paper to that elector, but the Independent Scrutineer shall not give effect to a request for a duplicate voting paper unless—
Exchange of voting papers
19.
The Independent Scrutineer may, on being requested to do so by an elector who wholly or mainly lives or works in a constituency different from the one for which she has been sent a voting paper in an election, send her a voting paper for the election in the constituency in which she wholly or mainly lives or works, but the Independent Scrutineer shall not give effect to such a request unless—
Electronic voting
20.
—(1) An elector who wishes to vote electronically shall do so on a website voting facility—
(2) The Independent Scrutineer may take such steps as she considers appropriate to satisfy herself that a vote cast electronically is valid.
Double voting
21.
—(1) An elector who has returned a voting paper in an election shall not vote electronically in that election, and an elector who has voted electronically in an election shall not return a voting paper in that election.
(2) If an elector votes both by returning a voting paper and by casting an electronic vote, the Independent Scrutineer shall take into account only the first vote she receives.
Scrutiny of votes
22.
—(1) The Independent Scrutineer shall reject any voting paper which—
(2) Where an elector has voted by electronic means, the Independent Scrutineer shall reject any purported vote which—
(3) The Independent Scrutineer shall certify the result of each ballot to the Returning Officer in writing (which may be by facsimile transmission or electronic mail), giving the following information—
(4) The Independent Scrutineer shall retain the voting papers in secure custody for a period of at least 28 clear days from the date of her certificate, following which, in the absence of any challenge made under rule 28, they may be destroyed, as may be any information held in printed or electronic form relating to individual votes cast by electronic means.
Death, disqualification or resignation of candidate
23.
—(1) If notification of the death or disqualification of a candidate is received by the Returning Officer after the last date for nominations, but before any voting papers have been circulated to the electors, the procedure to be adopted shall be as follows—
(d) if no other valid nomination is received within the extension period—
(2) If notification of the death or disqualification of a candidate is received by the Returning Officer after voting papers have been circulated to the electors, but before the conclusion of the election, the procedure to be adopted shall be as follows—
(3) If a candidate who has been elected dies or resigns following the election, but before taking up office, this shall be treated as if a casual vacancy had arisen in respect of the office she would have filled, and dealt with in accordance with rule 26.
Declaration of result by Returning Officer
24.
—(1) The Returning Officer shall, upon receipt of the Independent Scrutineer's certificate on the election issued in accordance with rule 22(3), declare the result of the election and certify in writing to the next Council meeting the names of the elected candidates for appointment as the registrant member and the alternate member to fill the vacancies in each national constituency and part of the register in respect of which an election has taken place.
(2) Where a candidate has been declared elected in accordance with rules 11(6)(a), 12(3)(a) or 23(1)(d)(i), the Returning Officer shall so certify in writing to the next Council meeting.
Appointment of Council members
25.
—(1) Subject to rule 28 and unless rule 23(3) applies, the Council shall, upon receipt of the Returning Officer's certificate on the election issued in accordance with rule 24(1), appoint the persons elected as registrant members or alternate members of the Council, as the case may be, for the national constituency and part of the register concerned.
(2) Subject to rule 28 and unless rule 23(3) applies, the Council shall, upon receipt of the Returning Officer's certificate in accordance with rule 24(2), appoint the candidate named in the certificate the registrant member for the national constituency and part of the register concerned (or alternate member, if it was a by-election for an alternate member).
Casual vacancies
26.
—(1) Where a casual vacancy arises in the office of either a registrant member or an alternate member of the Council, and the unexpired term of office in respect of the vacancy is 12 months or more, the vacancy shall be filled in accordance with the following paragraphs of this rule.
(2) If the vacancy is for a registrant member ("the departing registrant member"), the relevant alternate member shall fill the vacancy, unless she indicates in writing within 14 days of being notified of the vacancy that she is unwilling to do so ("an indication of unwillingness").
(3) If the relevant alternate member has given an indication of unwillingness, the four persons whose names appear at the top of the list of non-elected candidates provided by the Independent Scrutineer in accordance with rule 22(3)(e)(iv) in the most recent ballot in which the departing registrant member was elected shall be entitled in turn (in descending order in the list) to fill the vacancy, subject to any indication of unwillingness.
(4) If the vacancy is for an alternate member, the procedure described in paragraph (3) shall apply as if the vacancy was for a registrant member and the relevant alternate member had given an indication of unwillingness.
(5) If the vacancy cannot be filled by the procedures described in the foregoing paragraphs, the vacancy shall be filled through a by-election.
(6) Where a by-election becomes necessary in accordance with paragraph (5), these Rules shall apply to any such by-election, subject to such necessary modifications as the Council may determine.
(7) Where a vacancy arises of the kind mentioned in paragraph (1), and the unexpired term is less than 12 months, the vacancy shall not be filled.
Commencement of term of office
27.
—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), a person who is appointed as a registrant or alternate member of the Council shall take office immediately following the expiration of the term of office of the member previously appointed to represent the relevant national constituency and part of the register or, if the appointment is made after the expiration of the relevant member's term of office or has been to fill a casual vacancy, immediately upon appointment by the Council.
(2) A person whose election has been challenged under rule 28 shall not be appointed or take office until the challenge has been considered and disposed of by the Council.
Challenge to validity of an election
28.
—(1) Any 25 electors in an election may within the period of 21 clear days after the declaration of the result by the Returning Officer challenge the validity of the election, but only on the grounds that the election was—
(2) Any such challenge must be in writing, signed by the electors making it, and addressed to the Returning Officer, who shall send a copy of it to each of the candidates in the election.
(3) The Council shall determine whether or not to declare the election void according to such procedure as it thinks fit, which shall, however, afford all candidates in the election under challenge the right to make written representations on the subject of the challenge, and the Council's determination shall be final and conclusive for all purposes.
(4) The Council shall not declare an election void under paragraph (3) unless it is satisfied—
Postal disruption and civil contingencies
29.
In the event of a significant disruption to postal services or internet facilities, or of any other civil contingency arising, the Returning Officer may defer the last dates set out in these Rules, and otherwise adjust the procedures set out in these Rules, at her discretion.
Given under the official seal of the Nursing and Midwifery Council on
20th July 2005
L.S.
Jonathan Ashbridge
President
Sarah Thewlis
Chief Executive and Registrar