Guidance for Returning Officers administering Local Government Elections in England

You must give public notice of the name of each candidate elected, the total number of votes given to each candidate and the number of rejected ballot papers under each heading.1

When a candidate has used their commonly used name to stand in the election, you should use both their full name and the commonly used name when declaring the result to provide transparency regarding the candidates standing for election.

However, there is no legal requirement to use both their full name and commonly used name, and you can decide on the approach to take when declaring results. Whichever approach is followed, you should ensure that you apply it consistently for all candidates and undertake any additional checks as necessary to paperwork to ensure that candidates’ names appear in the same order as listed on the ballot paper.

You should ensure that the notice of results is made available to all interested parties as soon as possible, including by publishing it on your local authority’s website.

You must also inform the Proper Officer of the council of the name of each candidate elected.