European & Local Elections 2004

ARE YOU AN ADULT NON-NATIONAL LIVING IN IRELAND?

If so, you are entitled to vote at and contest local government elections in Ireland n June 2004. If you are an EU citizen, you are also entitled to vote at and contest lections to the European Parliament in Ireland in 2004.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS IN IRELAND, JUNE 2004

All non-nationals living in Ireland aged 18 years or over are entitled to vote at and contest local government elections which will be held in Ireland in June, 2004.

VOTING

To ensure that you are registered to vote at the 2004 local elections, complete the attached form and return it immediately to the city/county council specified on the back of the form - no stamp is required.

STANDING FOR ELECTION

on-nationals living in Ireland can stand for election to any local council in the State. Returning officers will publish in May 2004 notices of the local elections, setting out .he arrangements for nominations, etc. The nomination paper of a candidate, who is not a member of a registered political party, must be assented to by 15 electors registered in the local electoral area concerned.

No special documentation is required from non-nationals wishing to vote at or to contest local elections in Ireland - you have the same rights at these elections as Irish citizens.

Please see reverse side [Below] for information in relation to European Parliament elections.

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EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ELECTIONS IN IRELAND, JUNE 2004

All EU citizens* living in Ireland aged 18 years or over are also entitled to vote at and contest the 2004 European elections.

VOTING

To ensure that you are registered to vote at the 2004 European elections, complete the attached form and return it immediately to the city/county council specified on the back of the form - no stamp is required. If you are an EU citizen, other than an Irish or British citizen, and you were not registered to vote at the 1994 or 1999 European elections in Ireland, you must also complete an application form and a declaration, both of which can be obtained from the city/county council. The council will register you to vote in your local constituency and the information in your declaration will be sent to your home Member State to guard against double voting at the election.

STANDING FOR ELECTION

EU citizens living in Ireland can stand for election in any European constituency in the State. Candidates at a European election in Ireland must be at least 21 years of age. Returning officers will publish in May 2004 notices of the European election, setting out the arrangements for nominations, etc.

The nomination paper of a candidate, who is not a member of a registered political party, must be assented to by 60 electors registered in the European constituency concerned. If the candidate is not an Irish or British citizen, the nomination paper must be accompanied by a statutory declaration (form available from the returning officer) and an attestation from the candidate's home Member State certifying that they have not been deprived, through an individual criminal or civil law decision, of the right to stand as a candidate at the European election in the home State. If you intend to stand for election and are a citizen of a Member State other than Ireland or the United Kingdom, you should set about obtaining an attestation as soon as possible, as this may take your home State some time to issue. The information in your statutory declaration will be sent to your home State to guard against dual candidacy at European elections.

* citizens of EU applicant member states (Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovak Republic and Slovenia) will be eligible to apply for entry on the supplement to the register once formal accession has taken place on 1 May, 2004.