Local Elections 2024 Information

Local Elections will be held on the 7^thJune 2024 to elect 18 Members representing 3 Local Electoral Areas onto Sligo County Council.  The new Council will hold its first Annual Meeting on the 21^st June 2024. 

Name of Local Electoral Area	Number of Members to be elected for each Local Electoral Area
Ballymote-Tubbercurry	7
Sligo-Strandhill	6
Sligo-Drumcliff	5
Total	18

 

The following is a link to a map detailing the electoral areas:

Who is Eligible:

Eligibility For Election to Local Authority

1. 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;
2. A person is disqualified for election to a local authority if he/she -
• is a member of the Commission of the European Community, or
• is a representative in the European Parliament, or
• is a Judge, Advocate General or Registrar of the Court of Justice of the European Community, or
• is a member of the Court of Auditors of the European Community, 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.

A person in any of the categories listed above is also disqualified from nomination for election (Local Government Act 2001 – section 2(4)).

Candidate Nomination Process:

A candidate may be a nominee of a registered political party or may nominate himself or herself or may, with the candidate’s consent, be nominated by a proposer.  A proposer must be registered as a local government elector in the local electoral area of the local authority for which he or she proposes to nominate the candidate.

The period for the receipt of nominations commences at 10.00am on Saturday, 11^th May, 2024 and ends at 12.00 noon on Saturday, 18^th May, 2024.  Nominations will be received in advance by appointment only with the Returning Officer, Mr. John Moran, within the dates specified above.  To make your appointment or if you have any queries please contact:

NAME:             Corporate Services Section

EMAIL:            returningofficer@sligococo.ie   

TELEPHONE:  071 911 1111

Nomination Paper(s) are available as follows:

• From the Customer Services Desk and Corporate Services Section, County Hall, Riverside, Sligo
• By phone on 071 911 1111
• By email to info@sligococo.ie  and on the Council’s website

Candidates must select one of the following options: 

A.  Certificate of Political Affiliation (Registered Party Candidates only)

Candidates must submit a completed Nomination Paper - LE1 and Certificate of Political Affiliation to the Returning Officer. 

Details of candidate should appear the same on this form as appears on the Nomination Form. 

Certificate to be signed by Authorised Officer/s of the Party

Photographs (as outlined hereunder)

*The official form must be completed. A letter from the relevant political party will not suffice.

B.  Deposit (Non-Party Candidates)

A candidate may pay a deposit of €100 and submit the following to the Returning Officer: 

Deposit of €100 (Legal Tender)

Photographs (as outlined hereunder)

Circumstances relating to the return of the deposit are included in the Regulations and will apply where the candidate is elected or is not elected but whose votes exceed one quarter of the quota.

C.  Assentor Statutory Declarations (15) (Non-Party Candidates only)

Candidates must submit the following to the Returning Officer: 

Photographs (as outlined hereunder).

**Each Assentor must reside and be registered to vote in the local electoral area for which the candidate wishes to stand and may assent for one candidate only. The Candidate must contact the Corporate Services Section, County Hall, Riverside, Sligo in person and submit the 15 completed Statutory Declarations for examination and verification by relevant officials of the Registration Authority before presenting the nomination papers to the Returning Officer. 

Photographs: 

Requirements on candidates for the provision of photographs for ballot papers are as follows:

1. One digitised photograph on a storage device shall be delivered with the nomination paper together with two identical printed copies (passport size – 35mm x 45 mm).  Each copy of the printed photograph must have the candidate’s name clearly shown on the back.
2. The photograph must be of good quality and in colour showing the candidate’s full face, head and shoulders only, on a light background (any colour) and taken to a professional standard. (This photograph will be used on the ballot paper and it is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure that a good quality photograph is submitted). 
3. Photographs presented must have been taken within 12 months prior to Polling Day.

NB: Candidates not known to the Returning Officer should bring evidence of identity, such as a Passport or Driving Licence when submitting nomination papers

Nominations must be on the official form, LE1 Form, as directed by the Minister and a separate nomination paper is required for each local electoral area for which a candidate is nominated.

Methods of payment for lodging a deposit of €100.00 include debit/credit card (during business hours) or cash.

 

Expenditure and Donations

Expenditure

The Local Elections (Disclosure of Donations and Expenditure) Act 1999 provides for an expenditure and donations disclosure regime at local elections.  These guidelines 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 are issued pursuant to section 18(6) of the Act.

Spending limits, first introduced for the 2009 local elections, were revised by the Local Government Reform Act 2014. Since the last local elections in 2019, the spending limits that apply at local elections have been further revised in line with changes in the consumer price index. The limit depends on the population of the local electoral area, as follows:

Local electoral area population and candidate spending limit

• Population in excess of 35,000 - €15,350
• Population between 18,001 and 35,000 - €13,600
• Population of 18,000 or less - €11,500

Candidates nominated by a political party are deemed to automatically allocate 10% of their spending limit to the party’s national agent.  For example, a party candidate with a limit of 15,350 euro would be deemed to automatically allocate 1,535 euro for use by the party.  Their effective limit would therefore be 13,815 euro.  The 10% figure can be varied upwards or downwards by written agreement between the candidate and national agent.

Election spending incurred during a period before the election must be reported to the local authority concerned and must be below the specified limit.  The date of commencement of the spending period is set out in an order made by the Minister before the election and must commence between 50 and 60 days before polling day and end on polling day.  Spending for electoral purposes incurred between 8 April 2024 and polling day on Friday 7 June 2024 (inclusive) must be included on the declaration form.

A written statement of all election expenses (whether paid or not) incurred in relation to a local election must be furnished in person by a candidate to their local authority within 90 days after polling day at that election.  With the election being held on 7 June 2024, the written statement must be submitted on or before 5 September 2024.

An unsuccessful candidate must also provide details of each donation over €600 received, to meet the election expenses.   In addition, an unsuccessful candidate that is required to open a political donations account must submit a statement and certificate in connection with such an account.

Donations

The following rules apply for donations

• The maximum donation that may be accepted by a member of a local authority or a local election candidate is €1,000;
• The maximum amount that can be accepted as an anonymous donation is €100;
• Details of donations which exceed 600 euro must be disclosed in a statement made to the local authority.
• A candidate at a local election or a member of a local authority who receives, a monetary donation of more than €100 must open and maintain a political donations account in a financial institution in the State

Certain donations are restricted

• It is prohibited to accept a donation from an anonymous source which exceeds 100 euro.
• Donations in cash which exceed 200 euro are also prohibited.

There are specific rules covering corporate donations which exceed 200 euro – the donor must be registered with the Standards in Public Office Commission and evidence that the donation was approved by the corporate body must be provided.

Guidelines for Candidates - on the Disclosure of Donations and Expenditure, Spending Limits and Political Donation Accounts‌

Guidelines for National Agents ‌and designated Persons of Political Parties and Third Parties on the Disclosure of Donations and Expenditure, Spending Limits and Political Donation Accounts

 

Election Poster Guidelines

The Legislation governing placement of posters at election time is The Litter Pollution Act 1997 as amended by the Electoral (Amendment)(No. 2) Act 2009.  The legislation provides that erection of posters is only permitted from the date the order is made by the Minister appointing the polling day or 30 days prior to the date of the poll, whichever is the shorter period.  With arrangements for the 2024 local elections now set, the Minister clarified the time period during which candidates can exhibit election posters. Candidates can only erect posters from 8 May 2024, which is 30 days before the polling date. There is a requirement for candidates to remove all posters within 7 days of the poll i.e. by Friday 14^th June 2024.

Safety Concerns

It has been our experience in previous elections that numerous complaints have been received from motorists and pedestrians in relation to safety issues associated with election posters. The main issues relate to the following:

• Posters that are obscuring the visibility of traffic/pedestrian signals and traffic signs. Many of the problems are caused by posters that are erected on poles adjacent to signals or signs
• Posters that are below head height or resting on the ground. These posters can cause obstructions on footpaths and are particularly hazardous to the visually impaired
• Protruding cable ties that are at a level that could cause injury to pedestrians, particularly children

Where Sligo County Council staff become aware of posters that are considered to be causing a hazard they will be removed and disposed of.

The following guidelines may be helpful in ensuring that posters are not a hazard to the public

• Posters should be erected at a minimum height of 2.3 metres above footpaths, cycle tracks or any area to which pedestrians have access
• Posters should not be erected on lamp standards with overhead line electricity feed, traffic signal poles, bridge parapets, overpasses, pedestrian bridges, or roadside traffic barriers
• Posters should not obscure statutory road signs or traffic/pedestrian signals in any way
• Posters should be securely fixed to poles with cable ties or similar material to facilitate removal without damage to the poles

Election posters may not be displayed within 50 metres of a polling station.  This restriction takes effect 30 minutes before the official commencement of polling and lasts until 30 minutes after the polls have closed.  Posters must include the name and address of the printer also.