Northern Ireland Office

District council seats that become vacant during a council term will now be filled by party nomination or substitution under legislation brought into force today by the Government.

The change in the law means that the Chief Electoral Officer will now ask the party to which the vacating member belonged at the time of their election to nominate a replacement, or, in the case where the seat was held by an independent councillor it can be filled from a list of substitutes provided by that member.

Minister of State Paul Goggins said: “The Government with the support of the Northern Ireland political parties has brought forward legislation that provides the best means possible to ensure that councils remain representative of the communities they serve throughout the term of office.

“The method of filling vacancies by party nomination or substitution has worked well in the Northern Ireland Assembly and consultation demonstrated widespread support for using this method to fill vacancies arising on district councils in Northern Ireland.”

The new method of filling vacancies will apply to all vacancies arising on or after 1 April 2010.

Notes to Editors

These changes are set out in the Electoral Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1962 (Amendment) Order 2010, which amends section 11 of the Electoral Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1962. The Order was made on 31 March and came into force on 1 April 2010.

Previously, vacancies on local councils could be filled using the “co-option” procedure. However, if one or more councillors objected to a co-option, a by-election would be required to fill the vacancy.

By-elections are undesirable in PR-STV voting systems because they can distort the party balance that would have existed at the time of the election.

As a result of the proposed move to the much larger 11 councils, concerns have been raised that unanimous agreement to co-options will become more difficult to secure, which may lead to more by-elections.

A consultation paper entitled ‘Filling Vacancies on District Councils’ was published in October 2009; and a Government Response to the consultation was published in February 2010.

The new system mirrors that used to fill vacancies arising in the Northern Ireland Assembly (as amended by the Northern Ireland Assembly (Elections) (Amendment) Order 2009). Similar amendments made to the way in which vacant European Parliamentary seats in Northern Ireland are filled came into force on 1 April (by virtue of the European Parliamentary Elections (Northern Ireland) (Amendment) Regulations 2010).

District council seats that become vacant during a council term will now be filled by party nomination or substitution under legislation brought into force today by the Government.

The change in the law means that the Chief Electoral Officer will now ask the party to which the vacating member belonged at the time of their election to nominate a replacement, or, in the case where the seat was held by an independent councillor it can be filled from a list of substitutes provided by that member.

Minister of State Paul Goggins said: “The Government with the support of the Northern Ireland political parties has brought forward legislation that provides the best means possible to ensure that councils remain representative of the communities they serve throughout the term of office.

“The method of filling vacancies by party nomination or substitution has worked well in the Northern Ireland Assembly and consultation demonstrated widespread support for using this method to fill vacancies arising on district councils in Northern Ireland.”

The new method of filling vacancies will apply to all vacancies arising on or after 1 April 2010.

Notes to Editors

These changes are set out in the Electoral Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1962 (Amendment) Order 2010, which amends section 11 of the Electoral Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1962. The Order was made on 31 March and came into force on 1 April 2010.

Previously, vacancies on local councils could be filled using the “co-option” procedure. However, if one or more councillors objected to a co-option, a by-election would be required to fill the vacancy.

By-elections are undesirable in PR-STV voting systems because they can distort the party balance that would have existed at the time of the election.

As a result of the proposed move to the much larger 11 councils, concerns have been raised that unanimous agreement to co-options will become more difficult to secure, which may lead to more by-elections.

A consultation paper entitled ‘Filling Vacancies on District Councils’ was published in October 2009; and a Government Response to the consultation was published in February 2010.

The new system mirrors that used to fill vacancies arising in the Northern Ireland Assembly (as amended by the Northern Ireland Assembly (Elections) (Amendment) Order 2009). Similar amendments made to the way in which vacant European Parliamentary seats in Northern Ireland are filled came into force on 1 April (by virtue of the European Parliamentary Elections (Northern Ireland) (Amendment) Regulations 2010).