Candidate - Electoral Commission

Information for Candidates

Candidate Information

A person who is registered as a voter is eligible to contest an election:

Each candidate for election shall be nominated on a nomination paper by at least two registered voters, and his consent to nomination shall be given in writing on his nomination paper and attested by one witness:
- Provided that, no candidate shall be deemed not to have been validly nominated by reason only of the fact that subsequent to nomination day any person by whom his nomination paper was signed is struck off the preliminary list of voters or the Register of Voters, or has died.
No person shall propose, second, or assent to the nomination of more than one candidate on the same nomination day.
Only the candidates, their election agents, and the persons by whom the candidates’ nomination papers are signed shall have the right to be present at the nomination proceedings before the returning officer.
Any person entitled to be present at nomination proceedings may challenge the validity of any other candidate’s nomination paper. In addition, thereto the returning officer shall have the right on his own motion to hold a nomination paper invalid on the grounds either that the particulars concerning the candidate or the persons subscribing to the nomination are not as required by law, or that the nomination paper is not subscribed as required by law.

Nomination of candidates

By law, it is the duty of the Returning Officer to accept the nomination of any suitably qualified candidate for election on Nomination day and at the place identified to do so. The Returning Officer is available between the hours of 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to receive nominations.

Qualifications for elected membership

A person is qualified to be elected as an elected member of the Legislative Assembly if he or she:

is a Montserratian by virtue of section 107(2)(a) or 107(2)(b)(ii); and
was born of a father or mother who at the time of the birth was a Montserratian by virtue of section 107(2)(a) or 107(2)(b)(ii).

And provided that he or she:

has attained the age of 21 years;
is a registered voter;
and has been in Montserrat for at least twelve months during the five years immediately preceding the date of his or her nomination for election.

Disqualifications for elected membership

(1)No person shall be qualified to be elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly who:

is, by virtue of his or her own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state and has not formally renounced it before the expiration of ten days after his or her nomination for election;
holds or is acting in any public office, in the office of a judge of the High Court or of the Court of Appeal, or in the office of Magistrate;
has been adjudged or otherwise declared bankrupt under any law in force in any country and has not been discharged;
is a party to, or a partner in a firm or a director or manager of a company which is a party to, any contract with the Government and has not before the expiration of ten days after his or her nomination for election delivered a notice to the Electoral Commission setting out the nature of such contract and his or her interest, or the interest of such firm or company, in it;
is a person certified to be insane or otherwise adjudged to be of unsound mind under any law in force in Montserrat;
subject to subsection (2), is serving a sentence of imprisonment (by whatever name called) exceeding twelve months imposed on him or her by a court of law in any country or substituted by competent authority for some other sentence imposed on him or her by such a court, or is under such a sentence of imprisonment the execution of which has been suspended;
is disqualified for membership of the Assembly by virtue of any law in force in Montserrat relating to offences connected with elections; or
is disqualified for election by any law in force in Montserrat by reason of his or her holding, or acting in, any office the functions of which involve—(i) any responsibility for, or in connection with, the conduct of any election; or(ii) any responsibility for the compilation or revision of any electoral register for the purpose of any election.

(2)For the purposes of subsection (1)(6)—

two or more sentences of imprisonment that are required to be served consecutively shall be regarded as separate sentences if none of those sentences exceeds twelve months, but if any one of such sentences exceeds that term they shall be regarded as one sentence; and
no account shall be taken of a sentence of imprisonment imposed as an alternative to or in default of the payment of a fine.

(3) The Electoral Commission shall forthwith publish any notice delivered to it under subsection (1)(4) in such manner as it considers effective for the purpose of informing the electorate before the date of election.

Section 107(2)(a) and 107 (2)(b)(ii) of the Constitution – a person shall be regarded as a Montserratian if that person—

Additional Information

Influencing voters to vote for any candidate (Section 55 of the Elections Act)

1) During the hours that the poll is open upon polling day no person shall upon any public road or in any public place within 100 yards of any building in which a polling station is situated seek to influence any voter to vote for any candidate or to ascertain for what candidate any voter intends to vote or has voted.

(2) Every person who contravenes subsection (1) is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $240 or to imprisonment for six months.