Guidance for Candidates and Agents at UK Parliamentary general elections in Northern Ireland

Returns and declarations

After the election, the election agent should make sure that:

• all invoices are received no later than 21 calendar days after the election result is declared1
• all invoices are paid no later than 28 calendar days after the election result is declared2

The agent must submit to the Chief Electoral Officer of Northern Ireland:

• an election spending return reporting details of the candidate’s campaign spending and donations
• a declaration confirming the return is complete and correct to the best of their knowledge and belief

no later than 35 days after the election result is declared.3

Please note that if the deadline for any of the above falls on a weekend or public holiday, the deadline will move to the next working day.4  This is included within the following deadline calculations.

The candidate must provide a written statement of their personal expenses to their agent within 21 days of the result being declared.5  

The candidate must also send the Chief Electoral Officer a declaration confirming that the return is complete and correct to the best of their knowledge and belief. This must be done within seven working days of the return being submitted.6

If the candidate is outside the United Kingdom when the declaration is due, the deadline for submitting their declaration is extended to 14 days after they come back.7

You must still submit a return even if you haven’t spent any money.8 This is called a ‘nil return’.

There are consequences for failure to submit spending returns and these are set out in What happens if a spending return or declaration isn’t submitted?

Political party spending

Political parties contesting a UK Parliamentary general election must also report the details of their fundraising and campaign spending to us. Detailed information can be found in our guidance for parties. 

Invoices received or paid outside of the deadlines

We call claims (invoices for your candidate spending) that are received by the election agent later than the deadline of 21 days, unpaid claims. 

Unpaid claims cannot legally be paid unless a court order is gained granting leave to pay the claim.9   It can be an offence to pay an unpaid claim without a court order.10

We call claims (invoices) that were submitted within the deadline of 21 days but remain unpaid later than the deadline of 28 days, disputed claims.

Disputed claims cannot legally be paid without a court order first being gained granting leave to pay the claim.11

Any claim paid:

• after the 21 day deadline for receipt, or
• after the 28 day deadline for payments,

following a successful application to the court and after the deadline for submission of election spending returns, must be reported in writing to the returning officer within seven days of payment and be accompanied by a copy of the court order.12

You should also forward a copy of the Order to the Electoral Commission.