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Article 122
 

(1) If at any time no candidate has a surplus (or when under section 121 (8) an existing surplus is not transferred) and one or more vacancies remain unfilled, the returning officer shall—


(a) exclude the candidate credited with the lowest number of votes and examine all the papers of that candidate;
(b) arrange the transferable papers in sub-parcels according to the next available preferences recorded thereon for continuing candidates and transfer each sub-parcel to the candidate for whom the preference is recorded;
(c) make a separate sub-parcel of the non-transferable papers and set them aside as finally dealt with, such papers being, for the purposes of section 127 (1), described as non-transferrable papers not effective.


(2) Where the total of the votes of the two or more lowest candidates together with any surplus not transferred is less than the number of votes credited to the next highest candidate, the returning officer shall in one operation exclude such two or more lowest candidates provided that—
Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2001, Section 30(a) & (b)


(a) the number of votes credited to the second lowest candidate is greater than one quarter of the quota or, in the case of a bye-election, one quarter of what would have been the quota in that constituency were the full number of members of the Dáil for the existing constituency to be elected, or
(b) where the number of votes credited to any one of such two or more lowest candidates does not exceed one quarter of the quota, or, in the case of a bye-election, one quarter of what would have been the quota in that constituency were the full number of members of the Dáil for the existing constituency to be elected, it is clear that the exclusion of the candidates separately in accordance with subsection (1) and the transfer of any untransferred surplus could not result in a number of votes exceeding one quarter of the quota, or, in the case of a bye-election, one quarter of what would have been the quota in that constituency were the full number of members of the Dáil for the existing constituency to be elected, being credited to any such candidate.


(3) If, when a candidate has to be excluded under this section, two or more candidates have each the same number of votes and are lowest, regard shall be had to the number of original votes credited to each of those candidates, and the candidate with the lowest number of original votes shall be excluded and where the numbers of the original votes are equal, regard shall be had to the total numbers of votes credited to those candidates at the first count at which they had an unequal number of votes and the candidate with the lowest number of votes at that count shall be excluded and, where the numbers of votes credited to those candidates were equal at all counts, the returning officer shall determine by lot which shall be excluded.