In various parliamentary systems, a returning officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies.
In various parliamentary systems, a returning officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies.
In Australia a returning officer is an employee of the Australian Electoral Commission or a state electoral commission who heads the local divisional office full-time, and oversees elections in their division, or an employee of a private firm which carries out elections and/or ballots in the private and/or public sectors, or anyone who carries out any election and/or ballot for any group or groups.
In Canada, at the federal level, the returning officer of an electoral district is appointed for a ten-year term by the Chief Electoral Officer. The returning officer is responsible for handling the electoral process in the riding, [1] and updating the National Register of Electors with current information about voters in the electoral district to which they are appointed. [2] Before enactment of the Canada Elections Act in 2000, in the case of a tie between the two leading candidates in an election, the returning officer would cast the deciding vote. [3] Since 2000, a tie between two leading candidates automatically results in a by-election. [4]
The provinces and territories of Canada each have their own returning officers.
Germany has a Federal Returning Officer and a returning officer in each state.
In Hong Kong, the returning officer is usually an administrative officer of the government. [5] [6]
The returning officer of a parliamentary or assembly constituency is responsible for the conduct of elections in the parliamentary or assembly constituency concerned as per the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Returning officer is the head of elections in a particular constituency. Generally, in the case of Lok Sabha elections, it is the District Magistrate and in the case of state assembly elections, it is the Sub-Divisional Magistrate who is ex-officio returning officer. Returning officer is the statutory authority to conduct the polling, counting process and to decide validity of ballot paper and election commission has no power to overrule him or her. [7]
The Election Commission of India nominates or designates an officer of the government or a local authority as the returning officer for each of the assembly and parliamentary constituencies in consultation with the state government/union territory administration. In addition, the Election Commission of India also appoints one or more assistant returning officers for each of the assembly and parliamentary constituencies to assist the returning officer in the performance of his functions in connection with the conduct of elections. [8]
In the Republic of Ireland, the post of returning officer in Dublin and Cork is held by the city sheriff, and in the other areas by the county registrar of the area (a senior court official). For local elections, the position is held by the administrative head of the local council. The returning officer for presidential elections and referendums is a senior official in the franchise section of the Department of the Environment.
In New Zealand, the returning officer is in charge of overseeing the voting process in each electorate. [9]
The Returning Officer (RO) is in charge of overseeing the conduct of parliamentary (by-elections and general elections) and presidential elections. [10] The Returning Officer declares results for the parliamentary general elections and the presidential elections in the following manner:
For single member constituencies (SMCs):
For group representation constituencies (GRCs):
For SMCs with a walkover:
For GRCs with a walkover:
Section 49, Subsection 7E, Paragraph A of the Parliamentary Elections Act [or Section 32, Subsection 8D, Paragraph A of the Presidential Elections Act], are stated, only if the total number of overseas electors lawfully entitled to vote at the election in that electoral division is less than the difference between the number of votes given to the two best-performing candidates or group of candidates. [12] In the event where the total of overseas voters is more than the difference between the number of votes given to the two best-performing candidates, the RO may declare the number of votes cast in Singapore for the candidates, and announce the date and premises for the counting of overseas votes, in accordance with Section 49, Subsection 7E, Paragraph B of the Parliamentary Elections Act [or Section 32, Subsection 8D, Paragraph B of the Presidential Elections Act]. [12] The RO's duties also encompasses announcing the best-performing losing candidates as non-constituency Members of Parliament (NCMPs) post-elections in the government gazette. [13]
| Name | Took office | Left office | Elections served |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. A. Willians | GE1955 | ||
| M Ponnuduray | GE1959, GE1963 | ||
| Julian Benedict de Souza | GE1968, GE1972 | ||
| P. Arumalnatham | GE1976 | ||
| Ong Kok Min | GE1980, BE1981, GE1984, GE1988, PE1993 [14] | ||
| Lim Siam Kim | GE1991, BE1992 | ||
| Tan Boon Huat | 31 May 2010 | GE1997, PE1999, GE2001, PE2005, GE2006 | |
| Yam Ah Mee | 1 June 2010 | 31 March 2013 | GE2011, PE2011, BE2012, BE2013 |
| Ng Wai Choong | 1 April 2013 | 31 January 2018 | GE2015, BE2016, PE2017 |
| Tan Meng Dui | 1 February 2018 [15] | 31 March 2024 | GE2020, PE2023 |
| Han Kok Juan | 1 April 2024 |
In Sri Lanka, returning officers are appointed by the Commissioner of Elections under the Registration of Electors Act, No. 44 of 1980 for all presidential, general (parliamentary), provincial and local government elections held in the island. Normally public officers are appointed as returning officers and they may appoint assistant returning officers to assist them. [16]
In the Parliament of Sri Lanka, the Secretary-General acts as the returning officer for votes conducted within the Parliament.
In England and Wales the post of returning officer for general elections is an honorary one, held by the high sheriff of the county for a county constituency or the mayor or chairman of the local council for a borough constituency. If a constituency overlaps district and county borders, the returning officer is designated by the Secretary of State for Justice.
In practice, the task of conducting the election is delegated to an acting returning officer, who is usually a senior officer in the local authority (the only duties which can be reserved and undertaken by the returning officer are related to the receipt of the writ and the declaration of the result, [17] and only if written notice is given by the returning officer to the acting returning officer [18] ). In an English or Welsh constituency where the returning officer is the chairman of the local district council or the mayor if a borough council, the electoral registration officer is automatically the acting returning officer. In an English or Welsh constituency where the high sheriff or mayor is returning officer, the acting returning officer is designated by the Secretary of State for Justice.
In Scotland, there is no office of acting returning officer and the position of returning officer is not an honorary one. The returning officer for general elections is the same person who has been appointed returning officer for the election of councillors in the local authority in which the constituency is situated. If a constituency covers more than one local authority area, the Secretary of State for Justice designates which local authority returning officer will discharge the function.
In Northern Ireland, the Chief Electoral Officer acts as the returning officer. [19]
Returning officers normally announce the results after the count in the following manner:
I, name, the (acting) returning officer for the name of seat, hereby give notice that the total number of votes given for each candidate at the election of date was as follows, list of candidates and the number of votes received. And that name of winning candidate(s) has been duly elected to name of democratic body for name of seat (or name of office).
The returning officer for a constituency additionally acts as the petitions officer for recall petitions.
In England and Wales, every district council or unitary authority is required to appoint an officer of the council to be the returning officer for the election of councillors to their local authority, and any parish councils in their area. County councils must also appoint a returning officer for the election of councillors within the county. [20]
The 1871 Quebec general election was held in June and July 1871 to elect members of the Second Legislature for the Province of Quebec, Canada. The Quebec Conservative Party, led by Premier Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau, was re-elected, defeating the Quebec Liberal Party, led by Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière.
"None of the above" (NOTA), or none for short, also known as "against all" or a "scratch" vote, is a ballot option in some jurisdictions or organizations, designed to allow the voter to indicate disapproval of the candidates in a voting system. It is based on the principle that consent requires the ability to withhold consent in an election, just as they can by voting "No" on ballot questions. It must be contrasted with "abstention", in which a voter does not cast a ballot.
Regular elections in Croatia are mandated by the Constitution and legislation enacted by Parliament. The presidency, Parliament, county prefects and assemblies, city and town mayors, and city and municipal councils are all elective offices. Since 1990, seven presidential elections have been held. During the same period, ten parliamentary elections were also held. In addition, there were nine nationwide local elections. Croatia has also held three elections to elect members of the European Parliament following its accession to the EU on 1 July 2013.
At a national level, Greece holds elections for its legislature, the Hellenic Parliament.
Elections in Ukraine are held to choose the president, Verkhovna Rada (legislature), and local governments. Referendums may be held on special occasions. Ukraine has a multi-party system, often no single party has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments.
Romania elects on a national level a head of state – the president – and a legislature. The president is elected for a five-year term by the people. The Romanian Parliament has two chambers. The Chamber of Deputies has currently 330 members, elected for a four-year term by party-list proportional representation on closed lists. The Senate has currently 136 members, elected for a four-year term by party-list proportional representation on closed lists.
Elections in Barbados are held to choose members to fill elective offices in the House of Assembly. Elections are held on Election Day. These general elections do not have fixed dates, but must be called within five years of the opening of parliament following the last election. A former minister of the DLP, Warwick Franklin summed up the general elections process in Barbados as saying it is really just, "30 by-elections on the same day."
Elections in Bhutan are conducted at national (Parliamentary) and local levels. Suffrage is universal for citizens 18 and over, and under applicable election laws. In national elections, also known as the general elections, political party participation is mainly restricted to the lower house of Parliament, and by extension, to the executive nominated by its majority
At the national level, the Republic of Cyprus holds elections for its head of state, the President of Cyprus, and for its legislature, the House of Representatives.
Spelthorne is a constituency in Surrey, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Lincoln Jopp, a Conservative. Its previous MP Kwasi Kwarteng did not stand for re-election in the 2024 United Kingdom general election.
The Representation of the People Act 1948 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered the law relating to parliamentary and local elections. It is noteworthy for abolishing plural voting for parliamentary elections, including by the abolition of the twelve separate university constituencies; and for again increasing the number of members overall, in this case to 613.
General elections in Singapore must be held within three months after five years have elapsed from the date of the first sitting of a particular Parliament of Singapore, as per the Constitution. However, Parliament can also be dissolved and a general election called at the behest of the Prime Minister before the five-year period elapses. The number of constituencies or electoral divisions is not permanently fixed by law, but is declared by the Prime Minister prior to each general election pursuant to the Parliamentary Elections Act, which governs the conduct of elections to Parliament, taking into account recommendations of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee.
Parliament of Sierra Leone is the legislative branch of the government of Sierra Leone. It is principally responsible for making laws. The Sierra Leone parliament consists of 149 members, of which 135 members are directly elected from across Sierra Leone's 16 districts, while 14 are paramount chiefs appointed from the 14 rural districts. The parliament is led by the Speaker of the House; the position is currently held by Abass Bundu of the Sierra Leone People's Party. The current elected 135 ordinary members of parliament are composed of members of the All People's Congress and the Sierra Leone People's Party which are the two largest political parties in Sierra Leone.
Multi-member constituencies existed in the Parliament of the United Kingdom and its predecessor bodies in the component parts of the United Kingdom from the earliest era of elected representation until they were abolished by the Representation of the People Act 1948. Since the 1950 general election, all members of the House of Commons have been elected from single-member constituencies.
The Province of Manitoba, similar to other Canadian provinces and territories, is governed through a Westminster-based parliamentary system. The Manitoba government's authority to conduct provincial affairs is derived from the Constitution of Canada, which divides legislative powers among the federal parliament and the provincial legislatures. Manitoba operates through three branches of government: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. The executive branch—the Government of Manitoba—consists of the Executive Council and the Premier, who is the head of government and the President of the Executive Council. The legislative branch—the Manitoba Legislature—is composed of the Lieutenant Governor and the Legislative Assembly, which is composed of the 57 members (MLAs) elected to represent the people of Manitoba, as well as the Speaker, the Clerk, the Officers of the Legislative Assembly, and the employees of the legislative service.
The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999. Local elections in Scotland fell on the same day.
A group representation constituency (GRC) is a type of electoral division or constituency in Singapore in which teams of candidates, instead of individual candidates, compete to be elected into Parliament as the Members of Parliament (MPs) for the constituency. Synonymous to the party block voting (PBV) or the general ticket used in other countries, the Government stated that the GRC scheme was primarily implemented to enshrine minority representation in Parliament: at least one of the MPs in a GRC must be a member of the Malay, Indian or another minority community of Singapore. In addition, it was economical for town councils, which manage public housing estates, to handle larger constituencies.
In an electoral system, a deposit is the sum of money that a candidate for an elected office, such as a seat in a legislature, is required to pay to an electoral authority before they are permitted to stand for election.
The German federal election system regulates the election of the members of the national parliament, called the Bundestag. According to the principles governing the elections laws, set down in Art. 38 of the German Basic Law, elections are to be universal, direct, free, equal, and secret. Furthermore, the German Basic Law stipulates that Bundestag elections are to take place every four years and that one can vote, and be elected, upon reaching the age of 18. All other stipulations for the federal elections are regulated by the Federal Electoral Act. Elections always take place on a Sunday. Mail votes are possible upon application.
There are five types of elections in the United Kingdom: elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elections to devolved parliaments and assemblies, local elections, mayoral elections, and police and crime commissioner elections. Within each of those categories, there may also be by-elections. Elections are held on Election Day, which is conventionally a Thursday, and under the provisions of the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 the timing of general elections can be held at the discretion of the prime minister during any five-year period. All other types of elections are held after fixed periods, though early elections to the devolved assemblies and parliaments can occur in certain situations. The five electoral systems used are: the single member plurality system (first-past-the-post), the multi-member plurality, the single transferable vote, the additional member system, and the supplementary vote.
If the two candidates still have the same number of votes after the recount, the returning officer casts the deciding vote.