35Councillor ceasing to hold office

35 Councillor ceasing to hold office (1) A Councillor ceases to hold the office of Councillor and the office of the Councillor becomes vacant if the Councillor— (a) ceases to be qualified to be a Councillor; or (b) dies; or (c) resigns in writing delivered to the Chief Executive Officer; or (d) is ousted from office; or (e) subject to this section, is absent from Council meetings for a period of 4 consecutive months without leave obtained from the Council. (2) For the purposes of subsection (1)(a), a Councillor who would cease to have a qualification as an enrolled voter under section 34(1)(c) on a particular day if a voters' roll for the Council were prepared on that particular day, ceases to hold the office of Councillor at the expiration of the period of 50 days after that particular day if the Councillor has not obtained another entitlement to be on the voters' roll for the Council. (3) For the purposes of subsection (2), a Councillor is considered to have ceased to have a qualification as an enrolled voter under section 34(1)(c) if— (a) their only entitlement to be enrolled on the voters' roll for the Council is as a resident under section 241; and (b) their principal place of residence is no longer located within the municipal district of the Council. (4) The Council must grant any reasonable request for leave for the purposes of subsection (1)(e). (5) A Councillor is not to be taken to be absent from a Council meeting— (a) while any proceeding for ouster from office of the Councillor is pending; or (b) while the Councillor is suspended from office. (6) A Councillor is not to be taken to be absent from Council meetings during the period of 6 months after the Councillor or their spouse or domestic partner— (a) becomes the natural parent of a child; or (b) adopts a child under the age of 16 years— and the Councillor has responsibilities for the care of the child during that period. (7) A person who has resigned as a Councillor cannot revoke the resignation after it has been delivered to the Chief Executive Officer.