152Guidelines

#### 152 Guidelines 152 Guidelines (cf section 24 EFED Act) > > (1) The Electoral Commission may, from time to time, determine and issue guidelines, not inconsistent with this Act or the regulations, for or with respect to any matters dealt with in this Act. > > > (2) In the operation and application of this Act, regard is to be had not only to the provisions of this Act and the regulations but also to the guidelines determined under subsection (1), and, in particular, the Electoral Commission is to have regard to those guidelines when dealing with applications, claims, caps and disclosures under this Act and the enforcement of this Act. > > > (3) The Electoral Commission must, if practicable, before a guideline is determined and issued— > > > > > (a) make a draft of the guideline publicly available by— > > > > > > > (i) publishing the draft guideline on the Electoral Commission’s website, and > > > > > > > (ii) giving the draft guideline to the President of the Council and the Speaker of the Assembly, and > > > > > (b) invite written submissions about the draft guideline to be made within a specified period after the date the draft guideline was made publicly available, being a period of at least 4 weeks (the submission period), and > > > > > (c) consider the written submissions made about the draft guideline received by the Electoral Commission within the submission period. > > > (4) The Electoral Commission may, but need not, make publicly available the written submissions made about the draft guideline or a summary of or report on the written submissions. > > > (5) A failure to comply with a requirement under subsection (3) in relation to a guideline does not affect the validity of the guideline or a decision made by the Electoral Commission having regard to the guideline under subsection (2). > > > (6) The Electoral Commission may dispense with compliance with subsection (3) if it is satisfied that compliance should be dispensed with because of the minor nature or urgency of the matter. > > > (7) To avoid doubt— > > > > > (a) the Electoral Commission is not prevented from making decisions during the submission period for a draft guideline, and > > > > > (b) the determination and issue of a guideline under subsection (1) does not affect the validity of a decision made by the Electoral Commission before the guideline was determined and issued. > > **s 152:** Am 2025 No 29, Sch 1\[10\]; 2026 No 6, Sch 2\[37\] \[38\].