Descriptions that may be used by Mayor of London candidates
Descriptions that may be used by Mayor of London candidates
A mayoral candidate may only use one of the following descriptions:1
the word 'Independent'
the registered party name of a registered political party
one of the descriptions the party has registered with the Commission
If a mayoral candidate wishes to use a party name or description, this must be authorised by the party’s Nominating Officer (or a person authorised to act on their behalf).2
If the description on the nomination form matches one contained on our registered of political parties or is a registered party name, a certificate of authorisation, signed by or on behalf of the party’s Nominating Officer, must be received by the deadline for the delivery of nomination papers.3
Candidates standing on behalf of more than one registered party may use a joint description which is registered with the Commission. If a candidate is standing on behalf of more than one political party the candidate must submit a certificate of authorisation from each of the parties’ Nominating Officers (or persons authorised to act on their behalf) by the deadline for the delivery of nomination papers.4
Joint descriptions are listed on the Commission’s register of political parties on the registration page for the relevant parties within the descriptions section, and in each case the description will be followed by the words ‘(Joint Description with the xx party)’. An example would be ‘The Square and Circle Party Candidate (Joint Description with the Circle Party)’, which would be listed on the Square Party page. Please note that the words in brackets are for explanatory purposes only and do not form part of the description.
You can check who the Nominating Officer for a particular party is by referring to the Commission’s register of political parties. However, as long as the person who has issued the certificate claims that they have been authorised to do so by the registered Nominating Officer, the certificate should be taken at face value.
A Nominating Officer may stand as a candidate. If this happens, the candidate, as Nominating Officer, may authorise their own description. A person authorised by the Nominating Officer to issue a certificate of authorisation may also be a candidate and issue a certificate for their own nomination.
A certificate of authorisation can allow the candidate to:
use a specific description or the party name, or
choose either the party name or one of the party’s registered descriptions