Political parties authorise candidates to stand for them by issuing a certificate of authorisation. This must state that the named candidate can stand on their behalf and allow them to use one of the following:1
the exact party name as registered with the Commission
one of the party’s registered descriptions
your choice of either the registered party name or one of the registered descriptions
Particular care should be taken by the Nominating Officer (or someone authorised to act on their behalf) when completing the certificate of authorisation. If the certificate explicitly authorises a particular party name/description and this does not match the party name/description on the nomination paper, the whole nomination will be invalid.2
The certificate of authorisation must be signed by the registered Nominating Officer of the political party or by someone authorised by the Nominating Officer to act on their behalf and must be received by the (A)RO by the nominations deadline, 4pm, 19 working days before the poll.3
If you are standing on behalf of two or more parties, you will need a certificate of authorisation from the Nominating Officer of each of the registered parties (or people authorised to act on their behalf).4
Joint descriptions are listed on the Commission’s register of political parties on the registration page for the relevant parties.