The Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016

Absent signing at a particular petition: Northern Ireland

54.—(1) Where a person applies to the registration officer to sign a particular petition by post, or to sign that petition by proxy, the registration officer must grant the application (subject to paragraph (4)) if—

(a) in the case of a proxy application, the officer is satisfied that the applicant’s circumstances during the signing period will be or are likely to be such that the person cannot reasonably be expected to sign the petition in person at the petition signing place allotted or likely to be allotted to that person under regulation 16 (allotment of petition signing place);

(b) the officer is satisfied that the applicant is or will be entitled to sign the petition in accordance with section 10 of the Act;

(c) the application states the applicant’s date of birth and the registration officer is satisfied that the date stated corresponds with the date supplied as the date of the applicant’s birth pursuant to section 10(4A)(b), 10A(1A)(b) or 13A(2A)(b) of the 1983 Act;

(d) the application is signed and (unless section 10(4B), 10A(1B) or 13A(2B) of the 1983 Act applies) the registration officer is satisfied that the signature on the application corresponds with the signature supplied as the applicant’s signature pursuant to section 10(4A)(a), 10A(1A)(a) or 13A(2A)(a) of the 1983 Act;

(e) the application either states the applicant’s national insurance number or states that he or she does not have one, and the registration officer is satisfied as mentioned in paragraph (2);

(f) the officer is satisfied that the applicant has not signed the petition at the petition signing place allotted to that person under regulation 16; and

(g) the application meets the requirements of Chapter 2 of this Part.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(e), the registration officer must be satisfied—

(a) if the application states a national insurance number, that the requirements of paragraph (3) are met; or

(b) if the application states that the applicant does not have a national insurance number, that no such number was supplied as that person’s national insurance number pursuant to section 10(4A)(c)(i), 10A(1A)(c)(i) or 13A(2A)(c)(i) of the 1983 Act.

(3) The requirements of this paragraph are met if—

(a) the number stated as mentioned in paragraph (2)(a) is the same as the one supplied as the applicant’s national insurance number pursuant to section 10(4A)(c)(i), 10A(1A)(c)(i) or 13A(2A)(c)(i) of the 1983 Act; or

(b) no national insurance number was supplied under any of those provisions, but the registration officer is not aware of any reason to doubt the authenticity of the application.

(4) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a person who is included in the record kept under regulation 52(5) (absent signing at any petition for indefinite period: Northern Ireland) or kept in the record kept under section 6(3) of the 1985 Act (absent vote at elections for indefinite period), but such a person may, in respect of a particular petition, apply to the registration officer—

(a) for that person’s signing sheet to be sent to a different address in the United Kingdom, or

(b) to sign the petition by proxy,

if that person is shown in the record so kept as signing the petition by post or proxy, or voting by post of proxy (as the case may be).

(5) The registration officer must grant an application under paragraph (4) if it meets the requirements of Chapter 2 of this Part.