PART II.

Nomination of Candidates.

8. —(1) Every nomination of a candidate at a presidential election which is made by members of the Oireachtas shall be made in accordance with the following provisions, that is to say:—

(a) such nomination shall be made in writing on a nomination paper in the form set out in the Second Schedule to this Act;

(b) every such nomination paper shall state the full name, address, and description of the person thereby nominated and shall also state all such matters as are required by the said form of nomination paper to be stated therein;

(c) every such nomination paper shall be signed by not less than twenty members of the Oireachtas as nominators;

(d) every such nomination paper shall be signed by every of the twenty members of the Oireachtas making a nomination thereby;

(e) every such nomination paper shall be delivered or sent by post to the presidential returning officer.

(2) The presidential returning officer shall furnish free of charge on request a form of nomination paper to any member of the Oireachtas.

(3) The Clerk of Dáil Eireann and the Clerk of Seanad Eireann shall each be entitled to obtain from the presidential returning officer a supply of forms of nomination papers for the use of members of the Oireachtas.

(4) Where a particular member of the Oireachtas signs as a nominator two or more valid nomination papers sent to the presidential returning officer under this section, that one of such valid nomination papers which is first received by the presidential returning officer shall alone be regarded and the other or others of such valid nomination papers shall be disregarded.

9. —(1) Any council of a county or a county borough may, by resolution of the intention to propose which not less than three clear days notice has been given in writing to every person who, at the time when such notice is given, is a member of such council, resolve to nominate one named person to be a candidate at a presidential election then pending.

(2) No resolution under this section shall be passed before the date of the order appointing days made in respect of the presidential election to which such resolution relates, and no such resolution shall be rescinded.

(3) Every resolution passed under this section by the council of a county or a county borough shall be given effect to by means of a nomination paper in the form set out in the Second Schedule to this Act sealed with the seal of such council and delivered or sent by post to the presidential returning officer.

(4) Every nomination paper sent to the presidential returning officer under this section shall state the full name, address, and description of the person nominated thereby and shall also state all such matters as are required by the said form of nomination paper to be stated therein.

(5) Every nomination paper sent to the presidential returning officer under this section which is regular and valid on its face shall (unless shown to be forged or fraudulent) be conclusive evidence that the resolution mentioned in such nomination paper was duly proposed and passed in accordance with this section on the date stated in that behalf in such nomination paper at a meeting, properly convened and held, of the council whose seal is affixed to such nomination paper.

(6) The presidential returning officer shall furnish free of charge on request a form of nomination paper to any council of a county or a county borough.

(7) Where the presidential returning officer receives from the council of a county or a county borough two or more nomination papers, which are regular on their face and relate to the same election, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(a) any two or more of such nomination papers which purport to be made in pursuance of resolutions passed on the same day shall be invalid, and every (if any) of such nomination papers which purports to be made in pursuance of a resolution passed on a subsequent day shall also be invalid;

(b) subject and without prejudice to the provisions of the foregoing paragraph, that one of such nomination papers which purports to be made in pursuance of a resolution earlier in date than any of the resolutions in pursuance of which the others of such nomination papers purport to be made shall alone be regarded and ruled upon at the ruling upon nominations, and the others of such nomination papers shall be invalid.

(8) Four valid nomination papers nominating the same person and each sent to the presidential returning officer in accordance with this section by the council of a different county or county borough and received by the presidential returning officer before twelve o'clock noon on the last day for receiving nominations shall be necessary to constitute a valid and effective nomination by councils of counties or county boroughs of such person as a candidate at a presidential election.

(9) The exercise of the powers conferred by this section on the council of a county borough—

(a) shall, in the case of the county borough of Dublin, be a reserved function within the meaning of the Local Government (Dublin) Act, 1930 (No. 27 of 1930), and

(b) shall, in the case of the county borough of Cork, be a reserved function within the meaning of the Cork City Management Act, 1929 (No. 1 of 1929), and

(c) shall, in the case of the county borough of Limerick, be a reserved function within the meaning of the Limerick City Management Act, 1934 (No. 35 of 1934).

10. —(1) Every nomination of himself as a candidate which is made by a former or the retiring president shall be made in writing on a nomination paper in the form set out in the Second Schedule to this Act signed by such former or retiring president and delivered or sent by post to the presidential returning officer.

(2) The presidential returning officer shall furnish free of charge on request a form of nomination paper to any former or the retiring president.

11. —(1) The presidential returning officer shall number consecutively in the order in which they are received by him all nomination papers (whether the same are or are not regular and valid) received by him before twelve o'clock noon on the last day for receiving nominations, and for that purpose he shall, immediately after receiving any such nomination paper, endorse thereon the said consecutive number thereof.

(2) The numbers endorsed on nomination papers by the presidential returning officer in pursuance of this section shall be conclusive evidence of the order in which such papers were received by him.

(3) Whenever the presidential returning officer receives under this Act a nomination paper, he shall forthwith send by post to the candidate named in such nomination paper at the address stated in such nomination paper a notice in writing stating that the presidential returning officer has received a document purporting to be a nomination paper whereby such candidate is nominated (as the case may be) by a named council or by members (who need not be named) of the Oireachtas to be a candidate but the omission of the presidential returning officer to send such notice or the failure of such candidate to receive such notice shall not relieve such candidate from the obligation imposed on him by this Act to attend, either in person or by an authorised representative, during the whole of the ruling upon nominations.

12. —(1) At twelve o'clock noon on the last day for receiving nominations at a presidential election, the presidential returning officer shall attend at the place appointed in that behalf by the order appointing days and shall there and then do the following things, that is to say:—

(a) produce all nomination papers received by him before twelve o'clock noon on the last day for receiving nominations;

(b) examine and rule upon all such nomination papers in the order in which they were received by him, and ascertain therefrom the persons who are validly nominated and declare such persons to stand nominated as candidates at such election;

(c) if only one person is so declared to stand nominated, declare such person to have been elected as the President and send to the Taoiseach and publish in the Iris Oifigiúil a certificate in the form set out in the Second Schedule to this Act of such election of such person;

(d) if two or more persons are so declared to stand nominated, adjourn the election for the purpose of taking a poll in accordance with this Act.

(2) No nomination paper shall be received by the presidential returning officer after twelve o'clock noon on the last day for receiving nominations.

(3) Where the identity of the person purported to be nominated by a nomination paper is free from doubt, such nomination paper shall not be rejected or declared invalid merely because of an error in, or the incompleteness of, the statement therein of the name, address, or description of such person.

(4) Every question in relation to any nomination paper or the nomination of any candidate or any other matter connected with the nomination of candidates shall either be decided by the presidential returning officer or be referred by him to the judicial assessor under the next following section of this Act, and whenever any such question is decided by the presidential returning officer his decision thereon shall be final, subject only to a reference to the judicial assessor under the said next following section.

(5) The proceedings under this section are in this Act referred to as the ruling upon nominations.

13. —(1) The President of the High Court or some other judge of the High Court nominated by him shall attend at the ruling upon nominations and there sit with and act as judicial assessor to the presidential returning officer.

(2) The presidential returning officer may, on his own motion, and shall, if so requested by a candidate or the representative of a candidate, refer to the judicial assessor any question arising during the ruling upon nominations in relation to any nomination paper or the nomination of any candidate or any other matter connected with the nomination of candidates.

(3) The judicial assessor shall there and then decide and announce his decision on every question referred to him under this section by the presidential returning officer.

(4) The decision of the judicial assessor on any question referred to him under this section by the presidential returning officer shall be final and shall not be open to review by any court.

(5) A question may be referred to the judicial assessor under this section whether the presidential returning officer has or has not himself given a decision thereon.

14. —(1) At the ruling upon nominations every question relevant to the nomination of a candidate (including in particular his eligibility for election) shall be open and may be raised by the presidential returning officer or by any other person then present and entitled to take part in the proceedings.

(2) During the ruling upon nominations it shall be lawful for the presidential returning officer or any other person then present and entitled to take part in the proceedings to question the sufficiency or the correctness of the name, address, or description of any candidate as stated on a nomination paper and it shall be lawful for the presidential returning officer or, where the question is referred to the judicial assessor, for the judicial assessor to reject as invalid any nomination paper in which the statement of the name, address, or description of the candidate is, in the opinion of the presidential returning officer or the judicial assessor (as the case may be), misleading, whether by reason of insufficiency or incorrectness.

(3) The presidential returning officer or the judicial assessor (as the case may be) may, for the purpose of deciding any question at issue during the ruling upon nominations receive and act upon evidence, whether oral or written, tendered to him by or on behalf of any party interested in such question, and may, if he so thinks proper, require such evidence to be given on oath and may for that purpose administer an oath.

15. —(1) Every candidate shall attend, either in person or by an authorised representative, during the whole of the ruling upon nominations and shall furnish (either personally or by his authorised representative) all such information relevant to himself or any nomination paper purporting to nominate him as shall be within his knowledge and shall be reasonably required of him by the presidential returning officer or the judicial assessor.

(2) The judicial assessor may, if on the application of the presidential returning officer he so thinks proper, disallow the nomination of a candidate on the ground that such candidate has not attended at the ruling upon nominations as required by this section or on the ground that such candidate or his authorised representative has failed to furnish to the presidential returning officer or to the judicial assessor information required of him under this section by the presidential returning officer or the judicial assessor, as the case may be.

(3) In this section the expression “authorised representative” means a person authorised by a candidate in writing in the form set out in the Second Schedule to this Act to represent such candidate at the ruling upon nominations.

16. —(1) Any candidate may withdraw from his candidature at any time during the ruling upon nominations, either before or after he has been declared to be duly nominated.

(2) On the day for withdrawals the presidential returning officer shall attend during the whole of the period (in this section referred to as the time for withdrawals) from twelve o'clock noon until two o'clock in the afternoon at the place appointed in that behalf by the order appointing days, and any candidate who stood nominated at the close of the ruling upon nominations may withdraw from his candidature at any time during the said time for withdrawals.

(3) The withdrawal of a candidate under this section shall be effected by such candidate or his authorised representative delivering to the presidential returning officer during the ruling upon nominations or during the time for withdrawals (as the case may be) notice in writing of such withdrawal signed by such candidate or by his authorised representative.

(4) Where at the close of the ruling upon nominations two or more candidates stand nominated and during the time for withdrawals every such candidate except one withdraws from his candidature, the presidential returning officer shall, at the end of the time for withdrawals, cancel the adjournment of the election and declare such one candidate who did not withdraw from his candidature to have been elected as the President and send to the Taoiseach and publish in the Iris Oifigiúil a certificate in the form set out in the Second Schedule to this Act of such election of such candidate.

(5) Save as is authorised by this section, it shall not be lawful for a candidate to withdraw from his candidature.

17. —(1) Whenever at the close of the ruling upon nominations no candidate stands nominated or every candidate who stood nominated at the close of the ruling upon nominations subsequently withdraws from his candidature, all the proceedings in relation to the election shall be commenced afresh, and for that purpose the order appointing days shall be deemed to be cancelled and the Minister shall make a new order appointing days for the purposes of such fresh election.

(2) The appointment of a presidential returning officer for the purposes of a presidential election shall be deemed to extend to and include appointment for the purposes of any fresh election held in pursuance of this section in relation to such presidential election.

18. —(1) The following persons shall be entitled to be present at the ruling upon nominations and (save as is otherwise provided by this section) to take part in the proceedings, that is to say:—

(a) the presidential returning officer and his assistants,

(b) the judicial assessor,

(c) the candidates,

(d) the authorised representatives (if any) of candidates,

(e) such persons as a candidate or the authorised representative of a candidate is authorised by the subsequent provisions of this section to bring to assist him.

(2) The following persons may be present at the ruling upon nominations, but shall not take part in the proceedings, that is to say:—

(a) witnesses giving oral evidence, but only while giving such evidence,

(b) one person brought by the judicial assessor to attend upon him,

(c) such other persons as the presidential returning officer shall think proper to admit.

(3) Each candidate who does not send an authorised representative may bring to the ruling upon nominations not more than two persons to assist him.

(4) Where a candidate sends an authorised representative to the ruling upon nominations, such authorised representative may bring not more than two persons to assist him.

(5) A candidate who sends an authorised representative to the ruling upon nominations may himself be present thereat but shall not bring any person with him and shall not take any part in the proceedings.

(6) No candidate may send more than one authorised representative to the ruling upon nominations.

(7) No person shall be present at the ruling upon nominations except the persons authorised in that behalf by or under this section.

19. —(1) Whenever the ruling upon nominations at a presidential election is wholly prevented or is interrupted or obstructed by any riot or open violence, the presidential returning officer shall adjourn such ruling upon nominations until the next subsequent day which is neither a Sunday, Good Friday, Christmas Day or a bank holiday, and shall if necessary further adjourn such ruling upon nominations from day to day (excluding Sundays, Good Friday, Christmas Day, and bank holidays) until such riot or open violence shall have ceased.

(2) Whenever a ruling upon nominations is adjourned under this section, the Minister, if he so thinks proper, may by order amend the order appointing days by appointing a new day to be the polling day in lieu of the polling day appointed by such order appointing days.