Guidance for Returning Officers administering a Greater London Authority (GLA) election

As CRO, you play a central role in the democratic process. Your role is to ensure that the election is administered effectively in accordance with the law and that, as a result, the experience of voters and those standing for election is a positive one. You should remain impartial throughout to maintain the integrity of the election process.

To achieve this, you will need to have in place effective mechanism for liaising with the GLRO and neighbouring CROs. In your constituency, as CRO you are personally responsible for:

• publishing the notice of election for the constituency contest1
• the nomination process for the constituency contest2
• publishing the statement of persons nominated and the notice of poll for the constituency contest3   
• provision and equipment of polling stations4  
• appointing polling station staff5
• organising the poll for all three contests6  
• the postal vote process for all three contests7   
• verifying and counting the votes for that part of the mayoral contest that falls within the constituency, the constituency contest and that part of the London-wide assembly member contest that falls within the constituency8
• the declaration of the constituency result9   
• transmitting the results of the three contests to the GLRO10

Your duties as CRO are separate from your duties as a local government officer. As CRO you are not responsible to the local authority but are directly accountable to the courts as an independent statutory office holder. While you can appoint one or more persons to discharge any or all of your functions as CRO,11 you cannot delegate your personal responsibility for delivering the election.

Greater London Returning Officer

The GLRO is appointed by the GLA and has overall responsibility for coordinating the elections across Greater London. The GLRO is a senior officer of the GLA, independent of the Authority and the Mayor in respect of their electoral functions. 

The GLRO is responsible for the nomination process and calculating and declaring the results at the Mayor of London and London-wide Assembly Member polls.12   

The GLRO and CROs must cooperate with each other in the discharge of each of their functions.13  

The GLRO has the power to give general or specific directions to CROs relating to the discharge of their functions as set out in the election rules, including to provide any information that they have or are entitled to have. It is the duty of each CRO to discharge their functions in accordance with any direction that is given by the GLRO.14

The GLRO can be contacted through London Elects.

London Elects

London Elects has the central role in organising GLA elections. It is made up of staff from the GLA and is based at City Hall. The team is directly accountable to the GLRO.

They can be contacted at:

Address: City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way London E16 1ZE 
Tel: 07749 436135
Email: [email protected]

The team oversees the budget for the election, plans and coordinates the overarching logistics, administers the process through which the Mayor and the London Assembly members are nominated, organises the printing of the ballot papers and, following the poll, the collation of the results from the constituencies for the election of the Mayor of London and the London-wide Assembly members, the results declaration, and the allocation of seats.  

London Elects works closely with CROs and with the 32 boroughs and the City of London to deliver the election. They coordinate training, provide support and help to ensure consistency across London.

London Elects assists in making sure the election process is transparent and everyone involved is well informed. This includes educating electors about the voting process and the role of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly, helping candidates understand what is required and what is happening, liaising with the media and communicating the results of the election.

Borough Returning Officers

You will want to use the support and local knowledge of Returning Officers in each borough and the City of London to help you deliver the election.

The GLRO will prepare and consult on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). It will provide a framework within which joint working between CROs and BROs should take place. It will cover roles such as: 

• identifying polling stations
• appointment of polling station staff
• conduct of the poll
• issue and receipt of postal votes

It is important that CROs and BROs use the MOU as a means of discussing and formalising roles and responsibilities, including the delegation of responsibilities from the CRO to the BRO.

Where the CROs and BROs decide to take a different approach, this must be jointly agreed and documented.

The GLRO will provide copies of the MOU as soon as it is agreed and available. You will be able to download a copy of the MOU from the London Elects website once it’s available.

You should also consider appointing the BRO as Deputy Returning Officer with specific duties for that borough or the City of London.