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Parliament Act 2025

Salaries, allowances, expenses, and services for members and others - Purposes and interpretation - Interpretation

67: Meaning of eligible candidate

You could also call this:

"Who can be an eligible candidate in an election"

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You are an eligible candidate if you are a constituency candidate at a general election and you are either a vacating member or the leading constituency candidate. The Electoral Act 1993 has rules about this, which you can read about in section 185 and section 193(5). You are also an eligible candidate if you are a list candidate at a general election and you are either a vacating member or a successful list candidate. You can be an eligible candidate at a by-election if you are a constituency candidate and you were formerly the member, or if you are the leading constituency candidate. The rules about by-elections are in section 185 of the Electoral Act 1993. A leading constituency candidate is the person who got the most votes. A preliminary count is when the Electoral Commission counts the votes, which is explained in section 174 of the Electoral Act 1993. A successful list candidate is someone who would be elected if the official count was the same as the preliminary count, as explained in section 193(5). You can read more about this in the Electoral Act 1993.

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Part 4Salaries, allowances, expenses, and services for members and others
Purposes and interpretation: Interpretation

67Meaning of eligible candidate

  1. Subsection (2) applies to a constituency candidate at a general election who is—

  2. a vacating member; or
    1. not a vacating member and is the leading constituency candidate.

      1. The person is an eligible candidate between the close of polling day and the day on which the writ for the election is returned under section 185 of the Electoral Act 1993.

      2. Subsection (4) applies to a list candidate at a general election who is—

      3. a vacating member; or
        1. not a vacating member and is a successful list candidate.

          1. The person is an eligible candidate between the close of the polling day and the day on which, under section 193(5) of the Electoral Act 1993, the Electoral Commission declares candidates to be elected in the election.

          2. Subsection (6) applies to a constituency candidate at a by-election—

          3. who was formerly the member and whose vacation of their seat caused the by-election to be required; or
            1. who is—
              1. neither a member nor was formerly the member whose vacation of their seat caused the by-election to be required; and
                1. the leading constituency candidate.

                2. The person is an eligible candidate between the close of polling day and the day on which the writ for the by-election is returned under section 185 of the Electoral Act 1993.

                3. In this section,—

                  leading constituency candidate means the constituency candidate at a general election or a by-election who the preliminary count indicates—

                  1. received more votes than any other candidate for the seat; or
                    1. is one of 2 or more candidates who received a number of votes that is—
                      1. equal; and
                        1. greater than the number of votes received by any other candidate for the seat

                        preliminary count means the results of the preliminary count of votes conducted under section 174 of the Electoral Act 1993, if those results are made available by the Electoral Commission during the period starting on polling day and ending on—

                        1. the day before the day on which the writ for the election is returned under section 185 of the Electoral Act 1993, in the case of a constituency candidate; or
                          1. the day before the day on which, under section 193(5) of the Electoral Act 1993, the Electoral Commission declares candidates to be elected in the election, in the case of a list candidate

                            successful list candidate means a list candidate who, if the results of the official count were the same as the preliminary count, would be declared by the Electoral Commission to be an elected candidate under section 193(5) of the Electoral Act 1993.

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