An election agent is the person responsible for the proper management of the candidate's election campaign and, in particular, for its financial management. Every candidate must have an election agent.
The notice of the appointment must be delivered to you by the latest time for delivery of notices of withdrawal by 4pm on the last day for the delivery of nomination papers.1
You should communicate information on the election processes, the code of conduct and standard points of behaviour to the election agent at the earliest opportunity. In particular any information you provide should provide links to and highlight the new postal vote handling and the new undue influence and intimidation rules.
Can a candidate be their own agent?
A candidate may appoint themselves as their election agent.
If no agent is appointed by the deadline for withdrawals, the candidate automatically becomes their own election agent.2
A candidate is also becomes their own agent if:
they revoke their agent’s appointment, or
their agent dies, and a replacement is not appointed on the day of the death or on the following day.3
Election agent’s office address
The election agent must have an office to which all claims, notices, legal process and other documents may be sent.4
This must be a physical address – PO boxes or similar mailboxes cannot be used.
The location of the office must be within the combined authority area.5
The election agent’s office address will often be the same as their home address. Alternatively, it might be the local political party or an office especially set up for the election.
If the candidate gives you a written notification of their appointment as their own election agent, they must give an office address within the qualifying area as defined in the bullet points above.
Where a candidate acts as their own election agent as a result of not having appointed anybody else, the office address is deemed to be the address given on the statement of persons nominated, i.e. the one provided on their home address form. If that address is outside the combined authority area, the office address is deemed to be the address of the person named in the statement of persons nominated as proposer.6
This is the case even where a candidate has chosen to withhold their home address from the statement of persons nominated and ballot paper. You should make this clear to candidates.