Elections
How do I put myself forward to stand for election as PCC?
Further details about the election process and how to stand will be issued by the Electoral Commission in the spring. This will include the detail of how to be nominated and the deposit, appointing agents, and campaign spending.
In the meantime, information on how to stand as a candidate at other elections is available on the Electoral Commission website.
When will the next elections take place?
Following the first election in November 2012 elections, the next election will take place in May 2016 and every subsequent 4 years.What voting system will be used?
The supplementary vote system has been chosen for these elections. This is currently the system used to elect mayors, the closest existing role to PCCs. It seems sensible and consistent to use the same system to elect PCCs. Under the supplementary vote system, a voter is asked to indicate first and second preferences, if no candidate has 50 per cent of the first preference votes, the two candidates with the highest number of first preference votes go forward to a second round.
In the second round of counting ballots indicating a first preference for a candidate that lost the first round are reallocated according to the second preference indicated in the ballot paper.
Where are elections taking place?
PCC elections will be held in all police force areas in England and Wales, except in London, where the mayor of London will take on the powers of a PCC in relation to the Metropolitan Police, while the City of London Corporation will continue to act as a police authority.How will the elections be paid for?
The elections will be paid for by the Home Office and will not come from funds that would otherwise have gone to forces. Democracy is a justifiable cost and the government is confident that it will deliver more efficient and effective policing governance, as PCCs will be subject to a sharp incentive to deliver genuine efficiencies through their direct accountability to the public they serve.
Who can stand for election as PCC?
A person may stand as a PCC if:
- they are 18 or over
- they are a British, Commonwealth or EU citizen
- they are registered to vote in the force area in which they wish to stand
A person may not stand as a PCC if:
- they have been convicted of an imprisonable offence
- they are a serving; civil servant, judge, police officer, member of the regular armed forces, employee of a council within the force area, employee of a police related agency, employee of another government agency, politically restricted post-holder, member of police staff (including PCSOs) or member of a police authority
MEPs, MSPs, AMs and MPs will be able to stand as PCCs, but will need to stand down from their existing post before being able to accept the post of PCC.
Who can vote for PCCs?
You can vote in the election of your PCC if you are resident in that area and you are:
- a British citizen living in the UK or registered to vote as a crown servant or member of the armed services
- a European Union citizen living in the UK
- a Commonwealth citizen who either does not need leave to be resident in the UK, or has the necessary leave and is legally resident in the UK
Who will run the PCC elections?
The Home Office will be laying secondary legislation before Parliament setting out the statutory framework for the PCC elections. We have been working closely with the Cabinet Office and Department for Communities and Local Government and using the advice of the Electoral Commission, Association of Electoral Administrators and lead returning officers.
PCC elections will be run by local returning officers (LROs) in each local authority, with police area returning officers (PAROs) coordinating across each force area. Both LROs and PAROs are independent officers from both central and local government.