PART IV
ELECTIONS AND REPRESENTATION
25 The
Franchise
(1) Elections for the United Kingdom Parliament,
the European Parliament, the Scottish Parliament and Welsh and
Northern Ireland Assemblies, local authorities, and the other
elected bodies established by or under this Constitution shall
be general and direct, conducted by secret ballot and under other
conditions laid down in Acts of the Parliament in a manner which
ensure the free expression of the opinion of the people of the
United Kingdom in choosing their representatives.
(2) A British national who has attained the age
of 18 years is entitled to vote in elections for, and stand for
election to, Parliament, the European Parliament, the Assemblies
and the other elected bodies established by this Constitution,
subject to such disqualifications as Act of Parliament shall prescribe.
(3) An Act of Parliament shall determine the
extent to which the franchise shall be extended to other classes
of persons; and provide for the electoral law which shall govern
the franchise, the qualification and nomination of candidates,
election expenditure and other matters concerning the conduct
of elections to Parliament, the European Parliament, the Assemblies
and local authorities.
26 The
Electoral and Boundary Commissions
(1) An Act of Parliament shall make provision
for an Electoral Commission, which shall be politically neutral
and impartial.
(2) The members and chairman of the Commission
shall be appointed by the Head of State acting on the advice of
the Public Services Commission, provided that no person may be
appointed a Commissioner who is a member of, or a candidate for
election to, either House of Parliament, the European Parliament,
a devolved Parliament or Assembly, or a local authority.
(3) Commissioners shall receive salaries, and
office and administrative facilities, appropriate to the full
or part time performance of their responsibilities.
(4) A Commissioner ceases to hold office (a)
at the expiry of 5 years from the date of appointment (which may
be renewed); or (b) upon the receipt by the Chief Commissioner
of the Public Services Commission of a letter of resignation from
the Ordinary Commissioner; or (c) if the Commissioner is removed
from office, upon grounds of misconduct or incapacity, by the
Head of State on the advice of the Public Services Commission;
or (d) if the Commissioner becomes a candidate for election to
either House of Parliament, the European Parliament, a the Scottish
Parliament, the Welsh or Northern Ireland Assembly, or a local
authority.
(5) Commissioners shall receive salaries, and
office and administrative facilities, appropriate to the full
or part time performance of their responsibilities.
(6) The functions of the Electoral Commission
shall include -
(a) the distribution of state funding of political
parties as may be provided by law, the registration of political
parties in receipt of state funding, and the accounting and publication
of the income and expenditure of registered political parties,
in accordance with Article 28;
(b) the oversight of the fairness of referendum
and election campaigns, and the preparation and publication of
guidance and education with respect to the voting and electoral
system and any referendum of the electorates of the United Kingdom
or the nations of England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland
(c) the review and preparation of reports with
recommendations for Parliament on the administration of each election
to the House of Commons, Second Chamber, European Parliament,
Scottish Parliament, Assemblies of Wales and Northern Ireland
Assembly, and on any referendum of the electorates of the United
Kingdom or the nations of England, Scotland, Wales or Northern
Ireland;
(d) to appoint returning officers for each constituency
or region in which an election or referendum is being held, and
to provide supervision and regulation of the administration of
elections, including the registration of electors, the nomination
of candidates, and preparation and conduct of polling;
(e) to consider any matter affecting the conduct
of elections and referendums in the United Kingdom, including
any matter affecting the franchise and candidature, that is referred
to it by the Prime Minister or the Speaker of the House of Commons,
or the Commission on its own initiative determines; and
(f) to receive, investigate, and report to the
Parliament upon complaints in connection with the conduct of any
election or referendum in the United Kingdom.
(7) An Act of Parliament shall make provision
for four Boundary Commissions, one for each of England, Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland, to keep under review and make recommendations
with respect to the constituency boundaries of the House of Commons
and Second Chamber, in accordance with Article 27.
27 Method
of Election and Constituencies
The House of Commons
(1) For the purposes of elections to the House
of Commons, the United Kingdom comprises between 600 and 650 constituencies,
their boundaries being determined by an Act of Parliament following
a recommendation by a Boundary Commission.
(2) At each general election one member shall
be returned for each constituency, in accordance with the method
of election laid down in paragraph (3).
(3) The votes at the poll in a general election
shall be given by ballot, the result shall be ascertained by counting
the votes given to each candidate, and the candidate to whom the
majority of votes have been given shall be declared to have been
elected.[833]
(4) The Boundary Commissions, established under
Article 26, shall jointly agree and determine a common electoral
quota for the constituencies of the House of Commons by dividing
the total electorate of the United Kingdom by 625; and in making
their recommendations on constituencies for the House of Commons
shall seek to achieve a broadly equal electoral quota for each
constituency in the United Kingdom, subject the considerations
in paragraph (5).
(5) Each constituency for the House of Commons
shall be wholly in one of the four parts of the United Kingdom
(England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland); and in making
its recommendations a Boundary Commission may take into account,
if and to such extent as they think fit,
(a) special geographical considerations, including
in particular the size, shape and accessibility of a constituency;
(b) local government boundaries as they exist
on the most recent ordinary council-election day before the review
date;
(c) the boundaries of existing constituencies;
(d) any local ties that would be broken by changes
in constituencies; and
(e) the inconveniences attendant on such changes.
(6) The recommendations of the Boundary Commissions
with respect to the boundaries of House of Commons constituencies
shall be laid before the House of Commons as soon as possible
by the Secretary of State, and if approved by the House, shall
take effect at the following general election.
The Second Chamber
(7) For the purposes of elections to the Second
Chamber, there shall be twelve electoral regions, and an Act of
Parliament following an agreed recommendation by the four Boundary
Commissions acting jointly, shall prescribe for each region their
boundaries, and the number of members returned from each region
in relationship to the size of its electorate, subject to paragraph
(12).
(8) The 240 members of the Second Chamber are
each elected for a fifteen-year term, and may not stand for re-election.[834]
(9) One third of the seats in the Second Chamber
fall vacant and are elected every five years, with polling day
taking place on the same day as a general election.
(10) At each general election, and in any by-election,
for the Second Chamber, the candidate who receives the necessary
quota of votes shall be declared elected under a system of single
transferable voting in which each vote -
(a) is capable of being given so as to indicate
the voter's order of preference for the candidates for the election
for the constituency; and
(b) is capable of being transferred to the next
choice.
(11) For transitional purposes, the existing
members of House of Lords at the time of this Constitution entering
into force shall remain members of the Second Chamber until their
death or retirement, in addition to the eighty members elected
in each of the electoral terms following this Constitution entering
into force.
(12) In making its recommendations with respect
to the boundaries, sizes of electorates, and number of members
returned from each region, of the Second Chamber electoral regions,
the Boundary Commissions acting jointly shall -
(a) establish Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
as individual electoral regions, and structure England into the
broad regional areas of North West England, North East England,
Yorkshire and the Humber, West Midlands, East Midlands, East of
England, Wales, London, South West England, and South East England;
(b) cause the total members representing each
region to be a number divisible by three;[835]
and
(c) so far as practicable taking paragraphs (a)
and (b) into account, allocate the number of members to be returned
from each region according to the size of the electorate in each
region.
(13) The recommendations of the Boundary Commissions
with respect to the electoral regions of the Second Chamber shall
be laid before the House of Commons by the Secretary of State,
and if approved by the House of Commons shall take effect at the
following general election.
By-elections
(14) Upon a vacancy arising in the membership
of either House of Parliament in respect of a seat held by an
elected member, an election for a new member shall be held as
soon as is practicable in the constituency concerned; provided
that -
(a) in the case of the House of Commons, no election
shall be held if the vacancy occurs within three months immediately
preceding the date upon which the electoral term expires, and
(b) in the case of the Second Chamber,
(i) if the seat for which the vacancy occurs
is due for election at the next general election, no election
shall be held if the vacancy occurs within the three months immediately
preceding the date upon which the electoral term expires; or
(ii) if the seat for which the vacancy occurs
is not due for election at the next general election, and the
vacancy occurs within the three months immediately preceding the
date upon which the electoral term expires, then an election shall
be held at the same time as the next general election.
Devolved Parliament or Assembly, and European
Elections
(15) Acts of Parliament shall provide for the
constituencies, return of members, and by-elections in connection
with elections to the Scottish Parliament, Assembly for Wales,
Northern Ireland Assembly, and European Parliament.
Transitional arrangements
(16) The composition of the House of Commons,
Second Chamber, Assemblies, local authorities, and European Parliament,
immediately following this Constitution entering into force shall
remain the same as before until elections are held on the due
dates under the pre-existing law applicable to those bodies.
28 Political
Parties
(1) The Electoral Commission shall maintain a
register of political parties.
(2) The Electoral Commission shall from time
to time prepare regulations for the registration of political
parties, which shall include provisions requiring -
(a) a political party applying for registration
to provide a copy of its constitution and of its accounts,
(b) every registered political party to submit
annually a copy of its account to the Commission,
and such regulations shall have effect when approved
by resolutions of both Houses of Parliament.
(3) The Commission shall submit an annual report
to Parliament on the income, expenditure and financial status
of all registered political parties; and on such matters concerning
the registration of political parties as the Commission determines.
(4) Every political party is entitled to register
with the Electoral Commission in accordance with the regulations
made under this Article.
(5) A political party that is included in the
register shall be eligible for public financial support and entitled
to access to political broadcasting to the extent that an Act
of Parliament provides.
(6) An Act of Parliament may, notwithstanding
Article 36(10) (Freedom of Expression) place such restrictions
as are necessary to allow for the conduct of free and fair elections
on election expenditure by candidates, political parties, whether
registered or not, and other bodies.
833 This is the principle currently laid down in the
Representation of the People Act 1983, Schedule 1, Rule 18. Back
834
This equals the full lifetime of three electoral terms of the
House of Commons. Article 18(3) sets the number of members of
the Second Chamber. Back
835
This is to facilitate the rotating one-third membership of the
Second Chamber. Back
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