Who can contest an Election ? What is the procedure for nomination of Candidates.
Answers
Answer:
For contesting an election as a candidate a person must be registered as a voter. Sec 4 (d) of Representation People Act, 1951 precludes a person from contesting unless he is an elector in any parliamentary constituency. Section 5 (c) of R. P. Act, 1951 has a similar provision for Assembly Constituencies.
Nomination process to stand as a candidate
If you want to stand as a candidate, you should fill in a nomination paper. You will need to:
find 10 people in the ward who will support you
make sure they are on the electoral register
ask them to sign your nomination paper
sign and fill in a consent to nomination form
hand in your forms by the deadline
To download a nomination paper and a consent to nomination form, go to the Electoral Commission website.
Next steps
To support people who want to stand as candidates, we will:
hold a meeting to provide information
supply blank nomination papers
provide an election timetable
You can ask us to give you a copy of the electoral register and check your papers before you hand them in.
When to hand in your nomination paper
We run each election to a legal timetable. On our website and notice board will publish:
the date to begin handing in your papers
the closing date and time
where to hand in your papers
how to get your papers checked
a list of other candidates in your ward
Managing the process
The person in charge of elections is known as the Returning Officer. The Returning Officer for elections in Thurrock is the Chief Executive. He will name people to deal with issues on his behalf at election time.
There may be different rules for parliamentary elections and referendums.