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

You may appoint other people as counting agents to attend the count.1

However, the following people are not allowed by law to be counting agents:2

• the Chief Electoral Officer or a member of their staff
• a partner or clerk of the Chief Electoral Officer or a member of their staff
• anyone not entitled to vote at the election as a result of the report of an election court or a conviction for a corrupt or illegal practice under the Representation of the People Act 1983

Both you and your election agent can also automatically act as one of those agents without the need of an official appointment.3 The Returning Officer will tell you the maximum number of counting agents you can appoint.

All candidates will be allowed to appoint exactly the same number.

At the count, unless there are special circumstances, the number of counting agents allowed for each candidate will not be less than the number obtained by dividing the number of counting assistants (i.e. those staff employed on the counting) by the number of candidates.

The request to appoint these agents must be made in writing to the Returning Officer. It must contain the names and addresses of the people being appointed. The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland will provide the relevant forms for this, or you can find postal voting, polling agent and counting agent appointment forms on the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland's website.

The deadline for appointing counting agents is by no later than the fifth working day before the poll.4

If an agent dies or becomes incapable of acting, you may appoint another agent in their place by submitting the relevant appointment form to the Returning Officer.5 Any new appointment in these circumstances must be made without delay.

For more information on what counting agents can and cannot do and what they can expect to see at the count, guidance can be found in What does a counting agent do?