Source: http://www.elections.org.nz/book/export/html/2918
Timestamp: 2018-02-26 01:52:55
Document Index: 345715918

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 4', 'art 3', 'art 2', 'art 4', 'art 3', 'art 2', 'art 6']

This booklet is part of a series produced by the Electoral Commission.
The booklets are a general guide and reflect the Electoral Commission’s interpretation of the law and how it intends to apply the law. The Electoral Commission welcomes the opportunity to discuss any areas that require clarification.
The booklets do not cover every aspect of electoral law and procedure. For further information, you should consult the Electoral Act 1993, and the Electoral Regulations 1996, or seek legal advice. The Electoral Commission is also happy to discuss any specific questions that you have.
Other booklets available from the Electoral Commission or from elections.org.nz are:
Party Secretary Handbook - General Elections
Candidate Handbook - By-elections
Candidate Handbook - General Elections
MPs Handbook - Election Advertising Rules
Media Handbook - Parliamentary Elections
Forms and templates mentioned in this booklet are available for download below.
Contact details for the Electoral Commission:
Electoral Commission, PO Box 3220, Wellington
Tel: 04 495 0030
Fax: 04 495 0031
Email: enquiries@elections.govt.nz
Websites: www.elections.org.nz
application_form_to_register_a_party.doc (DOC 827.5 KB)
template_party_membership_form.docx (DOCX 752.31 KB)
template_statutory_declaration_for_logo.doc (DOC 23.5 KB)
template_membership_spreadsheet.xlsx (XLSX 11.46 KB)
Party Registration Handbook - 2017.pdf (PDF 419.19 KB)
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Under the Electoral Act 1993 political parties are able to register with the Electoral Commission to contest parliamentary elections. Registration is not compulsory for political parties. Parties can promote the election of their electorate candidates at parliamentary elections without being registered.
This guidance is intended to assist parties seeking to become a registered party to contest general elections and outlines the requirements for the registration, variation and cancellation of registration of parties and logos, and the ongoing compliance obligations of registered parties.
If you are wanting to register a new or existing political party you should have completed the following steps before making an application to the Commission:
Read the Party Registration Handbook
Decide on the name and aims of the party
Determine the party rules (including membership and candidate selection rules) and the governance structure of the party and appoint office holders (you may wish to seek independent legal advice on these matters)
Invite people to join the party.
Have a system to record and check membership evidence so that you know when the party has more than 500 current financial members who are eligible to enrol.
Finalise the party logo if also applying to register a logo
If you are thinking of registering a political party be aware that, in addition to the $500 registration fee payable to the Commission, there are ongoing compliance costs as well as campaign costs associated with contesting elections for registered political parties.
There is no public funding of political parties, with the exception of the broadcasting allocation for radio, television and online advertising in the month before an election.
A summary table of the differences between a registered and unregistered party can be found at Appendix A.
At a general election, only registered political parties are able to:
submit a party list to contest the party vote, and
be considered for an allocation of election broadcasting money.
A registered party is entitled to a share of MPs that is about the same as its share of the party vote if the party wins at least 5% of the nationwide party vote or at least one electorate seat at an election.
Registered parties have a party election expense limit on top of the expense limit available to every electorate candidate.
For the purposes of the election advertising rules, a ‘party’ is a party registered by the Commission under Part 4 of the Electoral Act and includes any party that has been registered at any time during the regulated period for a general election.
A registered party that does not contest the party vote at a general election is still required to comply with the election advertising rules, including the requirement to file an audited party expenses return after an election even if it is a nil return. Parties that receive an allocation of election broadcasting money must also file a return of allocation expenses after the election.
Registered parties also have ongoing statutory obligations, such as filing an audited annual return of donations and loans and maintaining records to ensure party membership details are accurately recorded and maintained.
Only registered parties are able to register a party logo, which appears on the ballot paper against the party name and any candidates who stand on behalf of the party.
Most registered parties operate independently and contest the party vote and/or electorate seats. However, the Electoral Act allows registered parties to jointly contest general elections by allowing one or more parties to be a component party of another registered party. For more information see Appendix E.
Unregistered parties are not subject to the ongoing statutory requirements that registered parties must satisfy.
Part 3: Registering a Party Logo
Only parties applying to be registered or existing registered parties may apply to the Electoral Commission to register a logo.
A party can apply for both party and logo registration at the same time, in which case the two applications will be processed together and will take approximately eight weeks provided the applications meet all of the legal requirements. Where a logo application is made separate to an application to register a party it usually takes about one month to process from the date the Commission receives an application that meets all the legal requirements.
There is no fee to apply to register a party logo with the Commission.
Parties are free to use unregistered variants of the logo in different formats (e.g. advertising, letterhead, etc.) for campaign purposes.
Party logos on the ballot paper
A registered party does not have to register a logo, but only registered logos can appear on a ballot paper.
On the ballot paper, the logo is reproduced within an area 14mm wide and 7mm high using the process colour printing technique (four colour printing, as in a newspaper or magazine). Parties should ensure the registered logo is designed to be reproduced at this size.
We can provide you with a mock up of how the party logo will appear on the ballot paper. Before each general election, we will also provide each party with a sample ballot paper showing how its party name and logo will appear on the ballot paper.
Electorate candidates are arranged alphabetically by surname on the right-hand side of the ballot paper with a registered logo to the right of the name (the electorate vote).
If the candidate’s party is contesting the party vote, the name of the party is printed opposite the name of the candidate on the left-hand side of the ballot paper (the party vote) with the party logo to the left of the party name.
If the candidate is an independent or contesting on behalf of an unregistered party, the space on the left-hand side opposite the candidate’s name is left empty, and no logo appears next to the candidate’s name.
Parties contesting the party vote but not the electorate vote are listed alphabetically on the left-hand side of the ballot paper, after the other parties standing candidates, with the party logo to the left of the party name.
A party logo must be registered before writ day for an election for it to appear on the ballot paper. The Electoral Act prevents the Commission processing an application between writ day and the return of the writ for a general election and by-election.
Although there is no statutory deadline for submitting a logo application prior to an election, there are a number of steps the Commission must complete when processing an application to register a logo.
Please allow sufficient time for a logo application to be processed if an application is made in the run up to an election.
Applying for logo registration
The party secretary or an MP who is a current financial member of the party must make the application to register a party logo. The application must be in writing and must be signed by the applicant.
Where the application is made in conjunction with an application to register a party, the application form for a party can also be used to apply to register the party’s logo.
Where an application to register a logo is progressed on its own, the applicant should provide a covering letter that includes the following:
name and address of the applicant and the capacity in which he or she makes the application, and
name and address of the party secretary, if that is not the person making the application.
A hard copy of the application can be sent by post, courier or hand delivered to:
Electronic documents can be emailed to enquiries@elections.govt.nz.
A party logo cannot be reserved with the Commission before an application is made. However, Commission staff may be able to comment on draft applications if desired by the party.
A logo application must be accompanied by a statutory declaration made by the applicant stating that the use of the logo by the party will not be an infringement of an intellectual property right of any person or a breach of any enactment.
Information on intellectual property rights and searches can be made using the Intellectual Property Office website www.iponz.govt.nz.
There is no requirement that a party has a registered trademark over their proposed logo. Registration of a party logo does not grant any intellectual property rights.
Electronic copies of logo
An application must include two identical electronic copies of the colour logo and a black and white version of the logo in each of the following formats (for use on the ballot paper, official publications, and the www.elections.org.nz website):
high resolution .eps (5cm wide, 350dpi, CMYK)
high resolution .jpg (5cm wide, 350dpi, RGB)
low resolution .jpg (300 pixels wide, 72 dpi, RGB)
One of the colour logo copies must be marked up with PMS (Pantone Matching System) codes for the colours, with each element of the logo labelled with its respective PMS code.
The documents and enclosures are checked for compliance with the law and Commission requirements. The party secretary is notified in writing of the acceptability or otherwise of the application within five working days of receipt.
Public comment is sought before the Commission considers the application against statutory criteria.
A party logo must not be:
contain any reference to a title or an honour or a similar form of identification.
Additionally, a party logo must not infringe any person’s intellectual property rights.
The Commission’s consultation process for logos follows the same process as for party registration applications, see Part 2.
Where the application to register a logo is made with a party registration application consultation on both occurs at the same time.
A period of two calendar weeks is provided for public comment and the applicant will be invited to respond to any comments.
Determining the logo applicaton
The Commission’s Board is responsible for determining the application to register a logo. Matters the Board will consider include:
a decision to refuse to register the party (because only registered parties can have a registered logo)
any reasonable cause the Board has to believe the intellectual property declaration is not correct
After the logo application decision
If the party logo registration is approved the Commission will:
update the Register of Political Parties available at www.elections.org.nz
notify the applicant in writing that the Commission has registered the party logo, and
give notice of registration in the Gazette.
If the logo application is refused the Commission will notify the party in writing and set out the reasons for the refusal. Notification will be given no later than ten working days after the date of the Board’s decision.
Part 4: Variation of Party Name or Logo
Variation of party name
An application to change the name or the abbreviation of the name of a registered political party must be in writing and made by the party secretary or an MP who is a current financial member of the party.
There is usually no need for the applicant to re-submit membership evidence or the statutory declarations for an application to vary the party name. However, you should check with the Electoral Commission if the name is changing significantly.
The applicant may submit a change of logo application at the same time. Please seek the advice of the Commission if you want to vary the name of a party that is in the process of registering as a political party. The Commission may require additional evidence from the applicant where an unregistered party has changed names since membership evidence has been collected.
Variation of party logo
A party secretary or an MP who is a current financial member of the party can apply to change the party logo. An application can be to:
vary the form of the current party logo
substitute a new party logo, or
amend the party logo to refer to the new name of the party where there has been a change in the party name.
The documents to be submitted for a variation application are the same as for a logo application (see Part 3).
If registered parties merge to form umbrella and component parties, the umbrella party may register a different logo from any component party. For more information on umbrella and component parties, please see Appendix E of this handbook.
Process for variation of party name or logo
There is no fee for an application to vary a party name or logo.
The Commission will undertake the same public consultation process, decision making and notification processes for a change of name application or logo variation as for an application to register a party or logo (see Part 2).
A party is only able to register one name, abbreviated name and logo at any given time for use on the ballot paper. Where a registered party varies its logo the previous registered logo is shown with the Register of Political Parties at www.elections.org.nz.
Part 6: Cancellation of a Party or Logo
The party secretary or an MP, who is a current financial member of the party, can apply to cancel the registration of a party and/or logo. The application should be made in writing to the Electoral Commission.
Cancellation initiated by the Electoral Commission
The Commission must cancel a party’s registration upon being satisfied that the party has less than 500 current financial members.
Where the party’s registration is cancelled, the Commission will also cancel the party’s logo. A party’s logo will also be cancelled where the Commission is satisfied the use of the logo by the party constitutes an infringement of an intellectual property right or a breach of an enactment.
A registered party having less than 500 members
The Commission’s may require a party to provide a list of the party’s current financial members where it is considering the cancellation of the registration of the party because the number of current financial members of the party who are eligible to enrol may have fallen below 500.
Any request for the party list of members will be made to the party secretary in writing. The Commission will generally allow two weeks for the party to supply the list of members.
The Commission’s Board determines the cancellation of registration of a party or a logo. Where the party has not initiated a party or logo cancellation, the Commission will raise its concerns with the party and provide an opportunity to comment before the matter is determined by the Board.
Where the Commission’s Board decides to cancel a party’s registration, it will:
update the Register of Political Parties available online at www.elections.org.nz
notify the party secretary (if he or she is not the applicant) in writing that the party is to be cancelled and the reason for cancellation, and
give notice of cancellation in the Gazette and on the Commission’s website.
Where a party has had its registration cancelled and subsequently applies to register as a party this will be treated as a new application. The $500 application fee will apply and all the documentation for a new application must be provided to the Commission.
Appendix A: Quick guide to registered and unregistered parties
Can contest the party vote at general elections and stand electorate candidates at general elections and by-elections Can stand electorate candidates at general elections and by-elections
Can have a party logo next to the party and candidate names on the ballot paper at a general election or by-election Cannot have a party logo on the ballot paper, but can have the name of the party under its electorate candidate(s)
Is able to spend up to the party expense limit at a general election
For the 2017 general election this is $1,115,000 if the party contests the party vote plus $26,200 for each electoral district contested by a candidate for the party
Each candidate that stands for an unregistered party can spend up to the electorate candidate limit
For the 2017 general election this is $26,200
If the unregistered party pays for candidate advertising published during the regulated period this will count towards the candidate’s limit
Must file an audited party expenses return after each general election, even where the party does not contest the election or incur election expenses N/A
Can apply for a share of the broadcasting allocation to purchase advertising time on television, radio and the internet in the month before election day N/A
Must file an audited return of party donations and loans every year by 30 April N/A
Must appoint and retain an auditor N/A
Must declare party donations and loans of more than $30,000 (alone or in aggregate from the same person) within 10 working days of receipt N/A
Must keep records of election expenses for three years after an election Each candidate must keep their own records and file a return of expenses and donations
Must maintain at least 500 current financial members who are eligible to enrol at all times and submit a statutory declaration by 30 April each year confirming the party continues to satisfy this requirement N/A
Must provide the Commission with a copy of the party’s rules for publication online and submit an up-to-date version when there are any changes May be asked to provide a copy of the party rules when candidates contest an election on the party’s behalf
Contact details for the party and its party secretary are published on the Commission’s website N/A
Appendix B: Forms and templates
Party registration application form - includes a checklist and template for the statutory declarations required under section 63 of the Electoral Act in conjunction with the registration of a party and the statutory declaration required under section 71C of the Electoral Act for the purposes of registering a party logo
This form and the statutory declarations must be completed by an applicant wanting to register a political party (and logo).
Template party membership form
The template form can be used by a party seeking registration to provide evidence that it has at least 500 current financial members who are eligible to enrol as electors. The template is in Word format, which can be readily formatted into a party’s personalised membership form.
Template spreadsheet for membership evidence
The spreadsheet should be populated with details of the 500+ members submitted with the party registration application, sorted alphabetically by surname.
Statutory declaration for logo application or variation required under section 71C of the Electoral Act.
Section 71A statutory declaration to be completed by registered political parties by 30 April each year.
Annual party return of donations and loans completed by registered political parties by 30 April each year
The form can be completed using Microsoft Excel or manually. The completed form must be printed and signed by the party secretary and each page initialled by the party secretary and the party’s auditor.
Return of party donations over $30,000 completed by registered political parties within 10 working days of the limit being reached.
Return of party loans over $30,000 completed by registered political parties within 10 working days of the limit being reached.
Return of party expenses completed by registered political parties within 90 working days of a general election.
Appendix C: Key dates for registered parties in an election year
Parties give notice to be considered for broadcasting allocation 3 March Parties are required to notify the Electoral Commission that they want to be considered for the broadcasting allocation (parties do not have to be registered at this point).
Annual reporting by parties 1 May (for 2016 calendar year) Deadline for filing annual return of party donations and loans return and section 71A statutory declaration (also a requirement in non-election years).
Start of regulated period 23 June Election advertising published during the regulated period is subject to expense limits and must be included in the party and/or candidates’ expense returns.
Dissolution of Parliament 22 August Parties must be registered by this date to be eligible for the broadcasting allocation. By convention Parliament is dissolved on a Friday.
Writ day 23 August Parties must be registered by writ day to contest the party vote. Once the writ has been issued the Commission can receive the nomination of candidates and the lodgement of party lists.
Nomination day 29 August Nomination day is usually the Tuesday after writ day. Noon on nomination day is the deadline for individual nominations and the lodgment of party lists. The deadline for bulk nomination of candidates and submission of party lists by registered parties is noon the day before nomination day.
Election day 23 September
Preliminary results are released on election night.
Official results declared 7 October
Return of the writ 12 October The writ is endorsed with the names of candidates who won electorate seats and are returned to Parliament. The allocation of list seats by the Commission and the election of list members typically occurs on the same day.
Electorate candidates’ returns of expenses and donations due 23 January 2018 This is the last date for filing candidate returns for the election.
Parties’ returns of election expenses due
21 February 2018 This is the last date for filing audited party returns for the election.
Appendix D: Quick guide for parties - common questions
The quick guide helps to answer the commonly asked questions about registering a party and logo.
It is not a comprehensive explanation of electoral law on registering a party and logo. Readers should consult this booklet and electoral legislation and take their own legal advice when in doubt. The Electoral Commission is also happy to answer any questions.
Does the party need to be incorporated or have special status before we apply for registration? No. It is up to each party to decide how the party is organised or structured.
Do I need to have a registered trademark over the logo? No, the applicant must, however, make a statutory declaration that their use of the logo will not be an infringement of an intellectual property right of any person or a breach of any enactment.
What party officials do I need to have? A party must, at the very least, have a party secretary in order to submit the application for registration. Other party officials you may wish to appoint include a treasurer (to take care of finances) and a membership secretary (to keep membership records).
How long will it take to process my party registration application? Applications take approximately 8 weeks to process. However, where issues arise, it may take longer.
When should I apply before a general election? Any party wanting to register in an election year should make their application with sufficient time for it to be processed before writ day and allowing at least 8 weeks for the Commission to process the application. It may take longer if issues arise with the application.
Is there a minimum fee I should charge members? There is no minimum fee; it just has to be more than $0. However, when setting membership fees, parties should consider the cost of campaigning, ongoing administrative costs of running a party and the costs of submitting a party list and electorate candidates in a general election.
Can I include overseas members? Yes, but you must be able to show that each overseas member remains eligible to vote by providing evidence that each overseas member has visited New Zealand in the last 12 months (for a permanent resident) or three years (for a New Zealand citizen).
How can I find an auditor? You can contact Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand at www.charteredaccountantsanz.com
The application is $500 which can be paid by bank cheque or direct credit into the Electoral Commission’s bank account.
Can the Commission tell us what an acceptable name is? No. This is a decision for the Commission’s Board following the public consultation process. However, Commission staff may be able to provide guidance on the acceptability of a party name based upon current registered party names and names that have been accepted or rejected previously.
Can I reserve a party name? No. It is not possible to reserve a party name or abbreviation with the Commission before an application for registration is submitted.
Do we get any public funding? The only public funding available for registered parties is from the broadcasting allocation which provides funding for advertising on television, radio and the internet for general elections. Further information can be found at www.elections.org.nz.
Can an unregistered party have its logo on the ballot paper
No, but a candidate may have the name of an unregistered party on the ballot paper provided the Commission is satisfied the party exists, the candidate is eligible to stand on behalf of the party and the name of the party is not indecent, offensive, excessively long or likely to cause confusion.
Appendix E: Umbrella and component parties
Most registered parties operate independently and contest the party vote and/or electorate seats. However, the Electoral Act allows registered parties to jointly contest general elections by allowing one or more parties to be a component party of another registered party.
The Electoral Act defines a component party as a political party that is a member of the registered party or the applicant party (the umbrella party), or a political party that has combined some or all of its membership with that of another political party and thereby formed the registered party or the applicant party or augmented the membership of such a party (section 3 of the Electoral Act).
As the definition suggests, there are different ways that a component party/umbrella party situation can arise. For example:
Several unregistered parties could unite under an umbrella and the umbrella party registers to contest the party vote.
Registered parties could unite under an umbrella party.
A combination of registered and unregistered parties could unite under an umbrella party.
A registered party could become part of another registered party.
If a new umbrella party is formed the new party must apply to be registered and must include a declaration that it has component parties. The new party must meet all the requirements for registration, including providing evidence that it has at least 500 current financial members. Membership fees already paid by current members of a component party would not be sufficient to be a current financial member of the new party.
Examples of parties jointly contesting elections under an umbrella party include:
The Alliance (consisting of component parties NewLabour Party, the Democrat Party, Mana Motuhake, the Greens and the Liberal Party) at the 1993, 1996 and 1999 general elections.
Internet MANA (consisting of the Internet Party and MANA Movement component parties) at the 2014 general election.
In terms of contesting electorates, candidates from the umbrella party will usually contest electorates under the umbrella party name and logo. In which case, the candidate will appear in alphabetical order on the electorate vote side of the ballot paper with the umbrella party logo to the right of their name and the umbrella party name will appear opposite on the party vote side of the ballot paper, with the same logo to the left of the party name. Alternatively, component party candidates may contest the electorates under the component party name and any registered logo of the component party. Where an umbrella party contests the party vote, the party list may also include candidates from any component parties.
Where a component party stands candidates to contest the electorate vote, the space on the party vote side of the ballot paper opposite the candidate is blank and the umbrella party logo does not appear next to the candidate’s name. If the component party has a registered logo, this is the logo that would appear next to the candidate’s name. The umbrella party would be listed alphabetically on the party vote side of the ballot paper with the other parties not contesting the electorate vote.
Under the Electoral Act, for the purpose of determining whether an umbrella party has won a constituency seat, a winning candidate that stood for a component party of that umbrella party can be counted as long as the component party did not contest the party vote.