Introduction of the application for appointment of the assistant and of his/her substitute

(1) On the tenth day after the qualifying date at the latest, the persons of confidence of the parties wanting to take part in the election campaign (§ 42) have to present to the returning officer of the respective elections authorities, as defined in para 3, their proposals for the appointment of the assistant and their substitute, who should not be judges by profession, as set out in § 15, para 3. These proposals have to be based on the number of assistants and their substitutes, who are due to each party, after the composition of the elections authorities on the qualifying date, irrespective of the regulations set out in § 15, para 2.

(2) Only people who meet the requirements defined in § 6, para 3, are eligible for the office of an assistant and substitute.

(3) The applications for the composition of the federal elections authority are to be addressed to the Federal Minister of Internal Affairs acting in the capacity of a federal returning officer. The applications for the composition of the provincial elections authorities are to be addressed to the leader of the respective province; for the composition of the district elections authorities - to the provincial returning officer and for the composition of the municipal and ward elections authorities they are to be addressed to the district returning officer.

(4) Delayed applications cannot be considered, except they are elections authorities, whose delayed composition is made necessary by changes in the wards, in the municipal areas or in the political districts.

(5) The returning officer has the right to demand from the persons of confidence of a party which produces applications according to para 1 to declare explicitly and in writing that the respective party wants to take part in the election campaign, according to § 42. When such a declaration is not presented, the applications are not taken into consideration.
When the persons of confidence of a party are known to the returning officer and he or she is in a position to decide whether they are indeed representatives of the respective party, or when an application is made by one of the parties, represented in the National Council, the returning officer has to accept the application for further processing immediately. When this is not the case the applicant has to see to it, if this has not yet been done, that the application is signed by at least 100 persons entitled to vote before the deadline set in para 1.

(6) Until the assistants and substitutes have been appointed, the applicants have the right to change or withdraw their applications at any time. The regulations under paras 2, 3 and 5 are to be applied accordingly.