The Local Elections 2014 together with the European Elections will take place on Friday 23rd May 2014. The hours of poll are from 7.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m.
The Local Electoral Area Boundary Committee Report 2013 recommended a number of changes to Leitrim County Council’s Local Electoral Areas effective for Local Elections 2014. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government signed the Local Electoral Area Order giving effect to these changes on 31st January 2014.
The Local Electoral Areas are as follows:
- Carrick on Shannon (6 seats)
- Ballinamore (6 seats)
- Manorhamilton (6 seats)
LEITRIM Electoral Areas 2014.pdf (size 12.3 MB)
Who can vote at Local Elections?
Every person aged 18 years or over on polling day is entitled to be registered as a local government elector for the local electoral area where they are ordinarily resident.
Eligibility For Election to a Local Authority
(a) Every Irish citizen and every person ordinarily resident in the State, who has reached the age of 18, who is not subject to any of the disqualifications outlined in paragraph (b) below, is eligible for election;
(b) A person is disqualified for election to a local authority if he/she -
· is a member of the Commission of the European Communities, or
· is a member of the European Parliament, or
· is a Judge, Advocate General or Registrar of the Court of Justice of the European Communities, or
· is a member of the Court of Auditors of the European Communities, or
· is a member of Dáil Éireann or Seanad Éireann, or
· is appointed under the Constitution as a Judge or as the Comptroller and Auditor General, or
· is a member of the Garda Síochána, or
· is a wholetime member of the Defence Forces, or
· is a civil servant who is not by the terms of his or her employment expressly permitted to be a member of a local authority, or
· is a person employed by a local authority and is not the holder of a class, description or grade of employment designated by order under section 161(1)(b) of the Local Government Act 2001, or
· is a person employed by the Health Service Executive and is at a grade or of a description of employment designated by order of the Minister for Health and Children, or
· is undergoing a sentence of imprisonment for any term exceeding 6 months imposed by a court of competent jurisdiction in the State, or
· fails to pay any sum or any portion of any sum charged or surcharged by an auditor of the accounts of any local authority upon or against that person, or
· fails to comply with a final judgement, order or decree of a court of competent jurisdiction, for payment of money due to a local authority, or
· is convicted of, or has had a conviction confirmed on appeal for, an offence relating to fraudulent or dishonest dealings affecting a local authority or corrupt practice or acting when disqualified.
(Local Government Act 2001, as amended – sections 13 and 13A).
A person in any of the categories listed above is also disqualified from nomination for election (Local Government Act 2001 – section 2(4))
Candidates running in the Local Elections
A candidate may nominate himself or herself as a candidate or, with his or her consent, may be nominated by a person who is registered as a local government elector in the local electoral area where the candidate proposes to stand for election. A separate nomination paper is required for each local electoral area for which a candidate is nominated.
Receipt of Nomination Papers
The period for receipt of nominations commences at 10 a.m. on Saturday, 26th April 2014 and ends at 12 noon on Saturday, 3rd May 2014. Nominations papers can be lodged during this week only by appointment with the Local Returning Officer.
A nomination paper from a candidate of a registered political party must have a certificate of political affiliation attached.
If no certificate is attached, one or other of the following procedures must be complied with before the expiration of the time for receiving nominations –
- (1) the completion of statutory declarations by 15 assentors registered as local government electors in the relevant local electoral area which must be witnessed by a Commissioner for Oaths, a Peace Commissioner, a Notary Public, a member of the Garda Síochána or an official of the registration authority, or
- (2) the candidate, or someone on his or her behalf, lodging a deposit of €100 with the local returning officer.
Nomination Papers:
Statutory Declarations by Assentors
Further information on the nomination process and eligibility for election can be found on the accompanying notes on the nomination form (LE1 English/Irish).
Further information on the Statutory Declarations by Assentors (LE1A English/Irish) can be found on the accompanying notes.
Expenditure and Donations
The Local Elections (Disclosure of Donations and Expenditure) Act 1999 as amended provides for an expenditure and donations disclosure regime at local elections. The guidelines below are concerned with the statutory obligations for candidates, national agents, designated persons and persons unconnected to a political party or candidate (third parties) at the forthcoming local elections and have been issued pursuant to section 18(6) of the Act. Since the last local elections in 2009 there have been a number of legislative changes to the rules on election spending and donations that apply at local elections. These are contained in the Local Government Reform Act 2014 and the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012. The guidelines below reflect these changes.
· Guidelines for Candidates.pdf (size 360.1 KB)
· Guidelines for National Agents, Designated Persons and Third Parties.pdf (size 253.7 KB)
· Circular F.06/14 - Disclosure of Donations and Expenditure, Spending Limits and Political Donation Accounts at the Local Elections on May 23rd 2014.doc (size 157.2 KB)
· Local Elections (Disclosure of Donations and Expenditure) Act 1999 - Consolidated February 2014.doc (size 321.5 KB)
· S.I. No. 144 of 2014 Election Expenses Order.pdf (size 39.1 KB)
· Advert re Period for Reckoning Expenses at the 2014 Local Elections.doc (size 32.3 KB)
View Electoral Legislation
Election Posters
For your information, please see attached a FAQ document outlining requirements in relation to election posters, updated to take account of the forthcoming elections - Election Posters - FAQ's.doc (size 55.8 KB)