The National Assembly for Wales (Representation of the People) Order 2007

Ascertainment of results at a contested regional election

63.—(1) At a contested regional election, the regional returning officer shall make arrangements for ascertaining the results of the poll as soon as practicable after he has—

(a) given the certification required by rule 61(2); and

(b) subject to rule 74(1), received the notification required by rule 62(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 and time 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 individual and party list candidates and one other person chosen by each of them;

(c) the election agents;

(d) persons who are entitled to attend by virtue of any of sections 6A to 6D of the 2000 Political Parties Act; and

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

may be present at the proceedings on 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 (including for satisfying themselves that the ascertainment of the result that he is required to make is accurate), as he can give them consistent 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 registered political party standing nominated or (in his absence) one of the candidates on the list submitted by that party.

(7) A person to whom notification under paragraph (6) has been given may require the regional returning officer to ascertain provisionally those results again but the regional returning officer may refuse to do so if in his opinion the request is unreasonable.

(8) No step shall be taken to complete the ascertainment of the result until the persons notified under paragraph (6) have been given a reasonable opportunity to exercise the right conferred under paragraph (7).

(9) Where the regional returning officer has provisionally ascertained the results again under paragraph (7), paragraphs (6), (7) and (8) and this paragraph shall apply to the further provisional ascertainment.

(10) If in ascertaining the results of the poll the regional returning officer is required to draw lots(1), he shall allocate the seat to the individual candidate or party on whom the lot falls.

(11) The regional returning officer shall have completed ascertaining the results of the poll when following a provisional ascertainment—

(a) there is no request under paragraph (7) for him to make a further provisional ascertainment; or

(b) if there is such a request, the regional returning officer refuses to make a further provisional ascertainment.

(12) This paragraph applies where the regional returning officer is notified under rule 62(3) that a candidate who is returned as the Assembly member for a constituency is the candidate of more than one registered political party.

(13) In a case to which paragraph (12) applies, the regional returning officer shall, in calculating the electoral region figure of a registered political party named in the notification, include that candidate as a candidate of that party; and in doing so shall disregard the fact that, for the purposes of calculating the electoral region figure of another registered political party named in that notification, the candidate is also included as the candidate of that other registered political party.

(1)

See section 7(9) of the Government of Wales Act 1998 in relation to the Assembly general election in 2007; and see section 9(9) of the Government of Wales Act 2006 in relation to any subsequent Assembly general election.