ELECTORAL (SEANAD ELECTIONS), ACT, 1925

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR CERTAIN MATTERS IN RELATION TO ELECTIONS OF MEMBERS OF SEANAD EIREANN. [11th July, 1925.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS OF SAORSTÁT EIREANN AS FOLLOWS:—

1 Formation of the panel of candidates.

1.—(1) Before every Seanad election the President shall by order appoint a convenient day to be the last day on which persons who have at any time been members of Seanad Eireann may signify pursuant to Article 33 of the Constitution, their desire to be included in the panel of candidates for that election, and at the conclusion of the day so appointed the formation of the said panel shall be deemed to have been completed.

• (2) Every order made by the President under this section shall be published in the Iris Oifigiúil as soon as may be after it is made.

2 Appointment of days of Seanad election.

2.—Sub-section (2) of section 46 of the Electoral Act, 1923 (No. 12 of 1923) is hereby repealed and in lieu thereof it is hereby enacted that the Minister for Local Government and Public Health shall within one fortnight after the completion of the formation of the panel of candidates for a Seanad election appoint by proclamation the day on which such Seanad election shall take place, and the day so appointed shall be not less than seven days after the date of such proclamation and not more than six weeks after the completion of the formation of the panel of candidates.

3 Form of ballot papers.

3.—It shall not be obligatory for the names of candidates at a Seanad election to be printed on the ballot papers in one continuous column, and in lieu thereof, but without departing from the alphabetical order prescribed by the Electoral Act, 1923 (No. 12 of 1923), such names may be arranged on the ballot papers in such manner as in the opinion of the Minister for Local Government and Public Health is best calculated to facilitate marking and counting.

4 Death of candidate after formation of panel.

4.—(1) In the counting of the votes cast at a Seanad election all the preferences recorded for a candidate who has died after the formation of the panel and before the opening of the poll shall be disregarded and regard shall be had in lieu thereof to the next available preferences.

• (2) In the counting of the votes cast at a Seanad election, dueregard shall be had to the preferences recorded for candidates who die after the opening of the poll and before the completion of the counting of such votes by the Seanad Returning Officer and, if and so far as such preferences so require, such candidates shall be deemed to be elected within the meaning of the Third Schedule to the Electoral Act, 1923 (No. 12 of 1923) but no further or otherwise.

• (3) The counting of the votes cast at a Seanad election shall be continued until the number of candidates deemed to be elected within the meaning of the Third Schedule to the Electoral Act, 1923 (No. 12 of 1923) excluding those candidates (if any) who have died as mentioned in the foregoing sub-section is equal to the number of vacancies to be filled, and those candidates who are so deemed to have been elected and have not so died shall alone be and be returned as having been elected and shall be so elected and returned in their proper order without regard to the candidates who have so died.

5 Rules for determining order of election.

5.—At a Seanad election the candidates who are found on the counting of the votes to be elected shall be and be returned as having been elected in the order ascertained according to the following rules, that is to say:—

• (a) candidates credited with a number of votes equal to or greater than the quota shall be elected in the order in which their respective surpluses were transferred or would have been transferred but for clause (5) of rule 6 of the Third Schedule to the Electoral Act, 1923 (No. 12 of 1923);

• (b) a candidate credited with votes equal to and not greater than the quota shall be regarded as having had the smallest surplus at the count at which he obtained his quota;

• (c) where the surpluses of two or more candidates are equal and under the said Third Schedule need not be transferred, the surplus of the candidate credited with the greatest number of original votes shall be deemed the largest;

• (d) where, in cases within the next preceding rule, the numbers of original votes of two or more candidates are equal, regard shall be had to the total number of votes credited to such candidates respectively at the first count at which they had an unequal number of votes and the surplus of the candidate with the greatest number of votes at that count shall be deemed the largest, and where the number of votes credited to such candidates was equal at all counts the Seanad Returning Officer shall determine by lot the order in which such candidates are elected;

• (e) in the case of candidates who are deemed to be elected under the provisions of rule 9 of the said Third Schedule, the order of election shall be the order of magnitude of the numbers of votes credited to them respectively beginning with the largest, and where any such numbers are equal the order shall be determined between such candidates under the foregoing rules as if such numbers were surpluses;

• (f) clause (3) of rule 9 of the said Third Schedule shall not apply to the counting of the votes at a Seanad election;

• (g) rule 12 of the said Third Schedule shall apply to the foregoing rules in like manner as it applies to the rules contained in that schedule.

6 Short title and construction,

6.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Electoral (Seanad Elections) Act, 1925.

• (2) This Act shall be construed as, one with the Electoral Act, 1923 (No. 12 of 1923).