The European Parliamentary Elections (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2004

Candidate’s right to send election address post free

58.—(1) A candidate at a European Parliamentary election is, subject to such reasonable terms and conditions as the universal service provider concerned may specify, entitled to send free of any charge for postage which would otherwise be made by a universal service provider either—

(a) one unaddressed postal communication, containing matter relating to the election only and not exceeding 60 grammes in weight, to each place in the electoral region which, in accordance with those terms and conditions, constitutes a delivery point for the purposes of this paragraph; or

(b) one such postal communication addressed to each elector.

(2) A candidate is also, subject as mentioned above, entitled to send free of any such charge for postage as mentioned above to each person entered in the list of proxies for the election one such communication as mentioned above for each appointment in respect of which that person is so entered.

(3) A person shall not be deemed to be a candidate for the purposes of this regulation unless he is shown as standing nominated in the statement of persons nominated, but until the publication of that statement any person who declares himself to be a candidate shall be entitled to exercise the right of free postage conferred by this regulation if he gives such security as may be required by the universal service provider concerned for the payment of postage should he not be shown as standing nominated as mentioned above.

(4) For the purposes of this regulation “elector” means a person—

(a) who is registered in the register of electors to be used at the election in the electoral region on the last day for publication of notice of the election; and

(b) includes a person who is registered in such a register as below voting age if (but only if) it appears from the register that he will be of voting age on the day fixed for the poll.

(5) In this regulation “universal service provider” has the same meaning as in the Postal Services Act 2000.