“A free, fully democratic election process which is fair to all potential candidates, from start to finish, and which protects the British National Party from attempt to abuse the process.”  That’s the basic guideline for the first possible BNP leadership election under the party’s new (Version 12.2) constitution.

It is essential to establish a level playing field, in which no candidate is advantaged either by access to more money or assistance from the party, a factional caucus or an outside agency.

The facilities for getting across each and every candidate’s message are and will be available at the appropriate time, equally to all qualified candidates seeking nomination, and to all who receive sufficient nominations.

As in any political party, a leadership election can produce tensions between different would-be candidates and their supporters. While, to an extent, this is natural and understandable, it is also clearly essential that the party as a whole, and individual candidates and campaigners, be protected from any attempt to use dishonesty and faction-building to advance one candidate at the expense of another.

There is a clear dividing line between passionately held opinion and legitimate criticism on the one hand, and character assassination and dishonesty on the other. For the sake of the party, and the ability of the members to make a properly informed choice, everyone must stay on the right side of that line – and understand that a free and fair election can be secured only if anyone who crosses the line thereby loses his or her right to be involved.

The rules set out below are therefore designed to be scrupulously fair as well as practical.  Breach of them by any candidate or other party member, in either letter or spirit, is liable to investigation and possible disciplinary sanction under the normal terms of the constitutions of the constitution.

NOMINATION PROCESS

Nomination papers shall be sent by post to all members eligible to nominate and vote in a leadership election. Each nomination paper shall bear a unique serial number to protect against possible fraud, including the disruption of the process through the submission of bogus ‘nominations’.  Each nomination paper shall specify the name of the official scrutineer and set out the address to which and the date by which it is to be returned.

Recipients wishing to support the nomination of a proposed candidate must complete and return their nomination paper by post at any time between 20 July and noon of 10 August. Only nominations made on the official forms sent to all eligible members by post will be accepted.

The nomination paper will allow the member making nomination to write in the name of the person they wish to nominate.

The nomination paper will allow a member to express the view that they do not wish to nominate any person as they are content that the incumbent continue in his role in another year.

The Party Chairman (or someone delegated by him to perform this task) will publish on the Party website the names of all those who have contacted him (or someone delegated by him to perform this task) who are qualified under the Constitution and have expressed consent to put their names forward. He will also publish in the bulletin sent out with the nomination papers a telephone number which members can ring for the same information.

A nomination paper not with the instructions thereon or received after the closing date and time shall be rejected and declared void.

A nomination paper which cannot be verified as genuine shall be rejected and declared void.

Nomination papers from members not qualified under the Constitution to make a nomination shall be rejected and declared void.

Nomination papers may not be handled or collected by any person other than the eligible member to whom it has been posted. Members wishing to nominate should post their own ballot papers, although in the event of sickness or infirmity they may ask their witness to post it for them.

No envelope containing a returned nomination paper shall be opened prior to noon on 10 August.

Those persons who have validly put their names forward for nomination and the incumbent may attend with one witness each (of their choice) at the opening of the envelopes containing the nomination papers. They may observe the procedures taken to check the validity of the nomination papers and eligibility of those making the nomination. Those present may also make objection to nomination papers or eligibility of those making the nomination to the official scrutineer.

Eligible persons who have accepted nomination and the incumbent shall be entitled to submit to the elections Department at elections@bnp.org.uk by the 20th July or as soon as possible thereafter a statement outlining their reasons for seeking nomination, not exceeding 150 words in length for publication on a section of the Party website to which all members eligible to nominate candidates and to vote in any consequent leadership election shall have access.

The scrutineer shall decide whether any nomination papers shall be rejected or counted and shall determine all disputes concerning the conduct of the nomination process His decision shall be final. The scrutineers shall prepare a scrutineers` report setting out the number of nomination papers distributed and returned, the total number of nominations given for any person and the total number of nomination papers rejected.

A notice declaring the result of the nomination process as stated in the scrutineers Report, together with a copy of that Report shall be sent by bulletin or posted on the Party website as soon as practicable after the Party receives the scrutineer's Report.

Each nomination paper shall, in addition to its own serial number, carry the following:

“Official form for the nomination process of the 2010 British National Party Leadership Election.

I am content with Nick Griffin continuing in his role as duly elected leader for a further year and therefore do not wish to nominate an alternative [tick box]

I would like to nominate [                                                         ]

(Please print the name using block capitals of one of those who have consented to nomination, these can be found at [web url or obtained by telephoning number]. 

Please do not ask for the opinions of call handlers as to nominees as staff have been instructed to maintain strict impartiality and can only give a list of names.

Name:

Address:

Membership number:

Signature:    Date:

Witness by: 

Name:

Address:

Signature:   Date:

Please return this form by 12 noon on August 10 to The Scrutineer, PO Box 1295, Bedworth, CV12 0ZE. We recommend registered or recorded delivery mail.”

NOMINATION PAPERS SECURITY

Each nomination paper shall bear the Membership Number and name and address of the member to whom it is sent. Members wishing to nominate a duly qualified candidate must fill in the nomination paper with the required details and return it to The Scrutineer, PO Box 1295, Bedworth, CV12 0ZE.

 All returned envelopes will be collected from the PO Box on a daily basis, and stored unopened in a secure and sealable place. Any would-be candidate may, should he or she so desire, either attend, or arrange for another paid-up member of the BNP to attend, any or all collections from the P O Box, and affix security seals of their own choice to the storage place. Any such seals may only be broken by the Scrutineer after the close of nominations and at the start of the counting and verification process.

ELECTION CONDUCT

In the interests of fairness to all potential nominees, candidates and party unity, the following rules also apply with immediate effect:

DUTY OF ACCURACY

Would-be and nominated (if applicable) candidates are reminded that – while expected to state their case effectively and in a spirit of honest political rough-and-tumble – they are under a duty to the BNP as a whole, as well as under a legal and moral duty, to keep their campaign honest and above board. Attacks on other candidates or other persons associated with them shall be made only if based on fact or a matter where personal opinion legitimately comes into play, and only if made openly at a hustings meeting at which the candidate so criticised is able to defend themselves. Character assassination and the promotion of false rumours are not acceptable.

HUSTINGS MEETINGS

The constitution provides for a minimum of three official hustings meetings. This is to ensure several things: That no candidate should be shut out; that every qualified member has a chance to see the candidates in person on an equal footing and make up their own minds; to ensure that no candidate with more time or money to travel and lobby should gain an unfair advantage over any other, and to ensure that the normal business of the party – particularly recruitment of new members and political campaigning – should not be disrupted by a plethora of unfair, one-sided meetings.

There will therefore  be a minimum of six hustings meetings, spread as evenly as practicable across the country.

All members eligible to vote shall be invited to their nearest hustings meeting with a minimum of 14 days' notice in writing. Each candidate may take a campaign support team of three other individuals with them to each hustings meeting, but all other eligible members shall only attend their local hustings meeting.

Each hustings meeting will use the same format, and give equal treatment to all candidates. The speaking time shall depend on the number of candidates duly nominated, but will be at least 20 minutes each, followed by a second round in which each candidate shall have at least 10 minutes to respond to points made and reiterate their own.

In order to ensure a level playing field for all candidates, no speaking aids other than written notes and a lectern may be used.

Meetings shall be recorded so that an accurate record of what is said by all candidates shall be kept.

The Chairman of each hustings meeting shall be agreed by all candidates if possible. If not, then by a majority of candidates if there are more than two (including the incumbent).  In the event of an equality of votes, the current leader’s decision shall be final.

WEBSITE

Each candidate shall be provided with 6 pages A4 equivalent, including photographs and artwork, on a section of the website open to all eligible members. These statements shall not include video, audio, weblinks, or contact details. Once posted, no changes to these shall be made except by prior written agreement by all candidates. The same section of the site shall include a five minutes head to camera presentation by each candidate, with identical neutral background for all, shot by BNPtv on same day at a venue provided by the party

The content of all campaign material must be factual or opinion, and shall not be defamatory or potentially illegal.

BRITISH NATIONALIST

One side of A4 black and white, will be sent out with the ballot papers in a special edition of British Nationalist to all eligible members, as provided print ready by each candidate.

CAMPAIGN BLOGS & WEBSITES

Candidates and their supporters shall not produce, maintain, advertise or otherwise utilise, whether for promotion, criticism or report, any official or unofficial campaigning website or social networking facility (Face book, Twitter, etc).

THIRD PARTY INTERNET OPERATIONS

There shall be no advertising of any third party website, blog, forums, etc by a candidate or a candidates' supporters.

INDEPENDENT MAILINGS

While illicit use of lists of contact details is always a disciplinary offence, for the avoidance of doubt, from the opening of nominations until the declaration of the result of any resulting leadership election, there shall be no unsolicited mailshots, deliveries, telephone calls, emails or home visits to members. 

PARTY WEBSITE

The party website and publications shall not campaign on behalf of any candidate, and shall restrict coverage of the campaign to factual advertising of the timetable and process as it advances.

Blogs, personal websites, etc which are advertised from the main website (such as those of senior elected representatives or columnists, shall not make reference to the campaign in any way, but must continue to promote the party in a positive and wholly neutral and professional way.

MEDIA INTERVIEWS

No candidate, spokesman thereof or other party member shall provide any media outlet with any interview, press statement or comment which deals with the leadership contest in any way.

FUND-RAISING

Since all candidates will be provided with identical facilities for setting out their stalls, and since no extra resources are therefore needed, there will be no fund-raising for any aspect of the campaign or the election by any candidate or supporters.