This guidance is for non-party campaigners who are campaigning at local government elections in Northern Ireland.

Under the Electoral Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1962, non-party campaigners must follow rules about how much they can spend on campaign activities in the run up to certain elections.

This guidance explains how the rules apply.

Non-party campaigners are individuals or organisations that campaign in elections, but are not standing as political parties or candidates. 

Non-party campaigners have to follow certain rules in the run-up to elections.

There are two types of non-party campaigns. These are:

You can find more information about the different types of campaigns in our guidance Non-party campaigners: Where to start.

If you are campaigning for or against a candidate at a local government election in Northern Ireland, you are covered by the rules for local campaigns.

The Electoral Commission does not regulate local campaigning. Complaints about possible breaches should be made to the police.

Under the local campaign rules, there are limits on how much you can spend on campaigning for or against particular candidates in a district electoral area. These limits are different, depending on the size of the electorate in the relevant area.

These spending limits cover spending on most campaign activities, including leaflets, meetings and digital campaigning.

During a regulated period, non-party campaigners are subject to limits on their spending on campaign activity. 

The spending limit for local elections is: 

• £50 plus 0.5p per local government elector in the district electoral area who is registered to vote on the last day for publication of the notice of election

For example

If there are 1,000 people on the district electoral area register, your spending limit for campaigning for or against a candidate would be: 

• £50 + (1000 x 0.5p)
• £50 + (£5) = £55

Your local elections office will be able to give you the number of electors in the district electoral area. 

You can find the contact details for your local elections office on our Elections in your area page.

You should keep a record of your spending, to make sure that you do not exceed the spending limit. 

Any spending over these limits must be authorised by the agent of the relevant candidate. The authorised spending will count as candidate spending and towards the candidate’s spending limit.

If authorisation is given, the agent will need to include your spending in the candidate spending return. You will need to give the agent the necessary details for that spending to be included.

You must send a written statement to the agent containing details of the spending you incurred within seven days of the result being declared.

If you spend more than the limit you must also complete a spending return and declaration and deliver these to the relevant Returning Officer within 21 days of the result being declared.

You can find contact details for the local elections office using our postcode lookup.