Deposit by candidates at parliamentary elections.
26.—(1) A candidate at a parliamentary election, or someone by on his behalf, shall deposit, or cause to be deposited, with the candidates at returning officer, during the time appointed for the election, the sum of one. hundred and fifty pounds, and, if he fails to do so, he shall be deemed to be withdrawn within the provisions of the Ballot Act, 1872.
(2) The deposit may be made by the deposit of any legal tender or, with the consent of the returning officer, in any other manner.
(3) If after the deposit is made the candidate is withdrawn in pursuance of the provisions of the Ballot Act, 1872, the deposit shall be returned to the person by whom the deposit was made; and if the candidate dies after the deposit is made, and before the poll is commenced, the deposit, if made by him, shall be returned to his legal personal representative, or, if not made by him, shall be returned to the person by whom the deposit was made.
Forefeiture of deposit in certain cases.
27.—(1) If a candidate who has made the required deposit is not elected, and the number of votes polled by him does not exceed, in the case of a constituency returning one or two members, one-eighth of the total number of votes polled, or in the case of a constituency returning more than two members one-eighth of the number of votes polled divided by the number of members to be elected, the amount deposited shall be forfeited to His Majesty; but in any other case that amount shall be returned to the candidate, where the candidate is elected, as soon as he has taken the oath as a member, and, where the candidate is not elected, as soon as practicable after the result of the election is declared:
Provided that where a candidate is nominated at a general election in more than one constituency he shall in no case recover his deposit mare than once, and in such case the deposits shall be forfeited to His Majesty except such one as the Treasury direct to be returned to the candidate.
(2) For the purposes of this section the number of votes polled shall be deemed to be the number of ballot papers (other than spoilt ballot papers) counted; and where the election is held under the system of the transferable vote the number of votes polled by a candidate shall be the number of votes polled by him as first preferences.
Returning officers.
28. The returning officer at a parliamentary election (other than a university election) shall, notwithstanding anything in any other Act, be:—
(1) In the case of a parliamentary county which is coterminous with, or wholly contained in, one administrative county, the sheriff;
(2) In the case of a parliamentary borough which is coterminous with, or wholly contained in, a county of a city or town having a sheriff, the sheriff, and in the case of the City of London, the sheriffs;
