Elections Thursday 4 June 2009

Voting for the European Parliamentary elections and County Council elections will take place on Thursday 4 June 2009 between the hours of 7am to 10pm.

On the same date by-elections for a District Councillor for the Waltham Abbey Honey Lane Ward and a Parish councillor for the Buckhurst Hill East Ward will also be held.

European Parliamentary Election - The Voting System

The electoral system used for the European Parliamentary elections is a regional list system of proportional representation. It allocates seats in the European Parliament in approximate proportion to the number of votes gained by the political parties within each region. Elections for the European Parliament are held every 4 years and 4 June 2009 voters will elect 7 MEPs for the Eastern Region.

Political parties can nominate up to 7 candidates, indicating the order in which they want them to be elected. On voting day, electors will vote for 1 party from the list of 15 parties and not for a specific candidate. The vote count for the European elections will take place from 4pm on Sunday 7 June 2009. Once the vote count is complete and confirmed, the result is sent to the Regional Returning Officer for the Eastern Region, David Monks, who will announce the result.

A full list of parties and their nominated candidates can be found in the link below.
• European Parliamentary elections for the Eastern Region statement of persons nominated pdf (58 KB) (Pdf provided by Huntingdonshire District Council)

European Parliamentary Election - How are the Votes Allocated?

The votes won by each party in the European Parliamentary election must be translated into numbers of seats won, and this is where the d'Hondt method is used. The d'Hondt method was invented by Belgian mathematician and lawyer Victor d'Hondt in 1878.

The d'Hondt Method Explained BBC Website (opens in a new window)

Election calculus simulator based on the modified d'Hondt system (opens in a new window)

Information on Eastern Region MEPs.
• UK Office of the European Parliament Eastern Region website
  (opens in a new window)

County Council Election - The Voting System

County Council elections are also held every 4 years and would normally take place in May but the Government agreed to move them to 4 June 2009, the same day as elections for the European Parliament. Electors will be voting for 7 County Councillors to represent the Epping Forest District at Essex County Council.

The Epping Forest District is split into 7 areas known as Divisions. On voting day, electors will vote for one candidate from their Division of either Buckhurst Hill and Loughton South, Chigwell and Loughton Broadway, Epping and Theydon Bois, Loughton Central, North Weald and Nazeing, Ongar and Rural or Waltham Abbey.

The vote count for the County elections will start once the verification of the EU votes is completed on Friday 5 June 2009. Once the vote count is complete and confirmed the results are announced by the Epping Forest District Returning Officer Ian Willett and the results will be published on the website at the link below.

Election results link.
• Election Results

A full list of candidates can be found in the link below.
• County Council elections statement of persons nominated pdf (540 KB)

County Council Election - How are the Votes Allocated?

The candidate with the highest number of votes is elected County Councillor for their Division.

By-elections

By-elections for a District Councillor for the Waltham Abbey Honey Lane Ward and a Parish Councillor for the Buckhurst Hill East Ward will also be held on Thursday 4 June 2009.

The candidate with the highest number of votes is elected District Councillor / Parish Councillor for their respective Wards.

A full list of candidates can be found in the links below.
• District Council by-election statement of persons nominated pdf (69 KB)
• Parish Council by-election statement of persons nominated pdf (66 KB)