Northern Ireland Assembly Act 1973
| Year | 1973 |
Northern IrelandAssembly Act 1973
1973 CHAPTER 17
An Act to establish a Northern Ireland Assembly and to provide for election to that Assembly.
[3rd May 1973]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1 The Northern Ireland Assembly.
(1) There shall be a Northern Ireland Assembly which shall consist of 78 members.
(2) Those members shall be returned for the constituencies in Northern Ireland which would return members to the Parliament of the United Kingdom if a general election were held at the passing of this Act, and the number of members returned by each constituency shall be that specified for the constituency in the second column of the Schedule to this Act.
(3) The first meeting of the Assembly shall be held on such day, and at such time and place, as the Secretary of State may by order direct.
(4) The proceedings of the Assembly shall not be invalid because of any vacancy in their membership.
(5) There shall be paid to each member of the Assembly—
(a ) a salary at the rate of 2,500 a year, beginning with the date on which he is returned as a member of the Assembly, and
(b ) an allowance to defray expenses incurred by him on secretarial assistance in carrying out his duties as a member.
The said allowance for the twelve months beginning with the date on which the member is returned shall not exceed 600.
(6) For the purposes of subsection (5) above any salary paid for any period to the member in respect of his membership of the House of Commons, or of the Senate, of the Parliament of Northern Ireland shall be treated as if paid on account of any sum due under subsection (5)(a ) above for the same period.
2 The election.
(1) The date of the poll for the election of members of the Assembly shall be appointed by the Secretary of State by order contained in a statutory instrument.
(2) The persons entitled to vote on that poll shall be those who would be entitled to vote on polls held on that date at a general election to the Parliament of Northern Ireland.
(3) Each vote in the poll shall be a single transferable vote, that is to say a vote—
(a ) capable of being given so as to indicate the voter's order of preference for the candidates for election as members for the constituency, and
(b ) capable of being transferred to the next choice—
(i) when the vote is not required to give a prior choice the necessary quota of votes, or
(ii) when, owing to the deficiency in the number of votes given for a prior choice, that choice is eliminated from the list of candidates.
(4) Every candidate at the election under this Act shall, in accordance with the provisions of an order under the following provisions of this section, make a deposit of 150, and the deposit shall be forfeited unless the candidate is elected, or the number of votes credited to him at any one or more of the stages of counting the votes exceeds a quarter of the quota needed to elect him.
(5) The Secretary of State shall have power by order to make any provision concerning the election under this Act, or any matter relating to the election, and in particular provision concerning—
(a ) the intervals between the stages of the election,
(b ) the form of declaration to be made by a candidate, the contents of nomination papers, and the taking of the poll,
(c ) the method of voting, and the method of counting and transferring votes,
(d ) the procedure on the death of a candidate,
(e ) the questioning of elections, and
(f ) corrupt and illegal practices, and the disqualifications to be imposed, in any part of the United Kingdom, for a corrupt or illegal practice in the election under this Act.
(6) An order made under subsection (5) above—
(a ) may include any supplemental or incidental provisions, including provisions creating criminal offences,
(b ) may apply, with any modifications or exceptions specified in the order, any of the provisions of the Electoral Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1962 or of any instrument made or having effect under that Act,
(c ) shall be contained in a statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
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