Deposit (politics)
Encyclopedia
A deposit is a sum of money that a candidate must pay in return for the right to stand for election to certain political offices, particularly seats in legislatures.

United Kingdom

Currently, the deposit in elections to the House of Commons is £500, which must be handed in, in cash, banker's draft
Banker's draft
A banker's draft is a cheque where the funds are taken directly from the financial institution rather than the individual drawer's account....

, or other forms of legal tender
Legal tender
Legal tender is a medium of payment allowed by law or recognized by a legal system to be valid for meeting a financial obligation. Paper currency is a common form of legal tender in many countries....

, when the candidate submits his or her nomination papers. It is refunded provided that the candidate gains one-twentieth (5%) or more of the total valid votes cast in the constituency
United Kingdom constituencies
In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...

.

Between 1918 and 1985, the cost of a Parliamentary deposit was £150 but the threshold for retaining it (i.e., having the money returned to the candidate) was winning one-eighth (12.5%) of total valid votes cast.

Deposits also must be paid by candidates for election to the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...

, the National Assembly for Wales
National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...

, for Mayor of London
Mayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...

 or a member of the London Assembly
London Assembly
The London Assembly is an elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds majority, to amend the mayor's annual budget. The assembly was established in 2000 and is headquartered at City Hall on the south...

, the Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...

 or British constituencies of the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

. A deposit of £500 is also required for mayoral elections in those English or Welsh local authorities that govern by the election of an executive mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

.
Deposits are also required in the electoral jurisdictions of countries other than the United Kingdom, particularly those that have parallels with the Westminster parliamentary system.

In recent times, a candidate for a major party losing their deposit in an election is regarded as something of an embarrassment.

Canada

In Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, a candidate for Member of Parliament must place a $1000 deposit. Formerly, failure to reach 10% of the vote led to the loss of the deposit. At present, all candidates receive their deposit back if they turn in their properly completed financial paperwork on time, and a portion of election expenses are reimbursed if 10% is reached. Nevertheless, the phrases "lose one's deposit" and "get one's deposit back" are still commonly heard in political circles.

Republic of Ireland

In the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

, candidates for election to Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...

 must pay a deposit of €500 if they fail to meet one of two criteria. Candidates nominated by political parties registered to contest Dáil elections, and non-party candidates who provide detailed information of 30 electors in the constituency who assent to their nomination, do not have to pay a deposit. This follows a High Court ruling; the court found that the obligatory payment of deposits was repugnant to the Constitution.

Candidates who pay a deposit get repaid if their final vote total, under the single transferable vote
Single transferable vote
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...

 electoral system, exceeds one-quarter of the Droop quota
Droop Quota
The Droop quota is the quota most commonly used in elections held under the Single Transferable Vote system. It is also sometimes used in elections held under the largest remainder method of party-list proportional representation . In an STV election the quota is the minimum number of votes a...

 for their constituency. This is also the threshold that candidates' votes must exceed to claim an election expenses allowance from the State.

India

In the Republic of India, candidates for election to the lower house of the parliament - Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...

 must pay a security deposit of 10,000. For state assembly
Vidhan Sabha
The Vidhan Sabha or the Legislative Assembly is the lower house or the sole house of the provincial legislature in the different states of India. The same name is also used for the lower house of the legislatures for two of the union territories, Delhi and Pondicherry...

 elections the amount is 5,000. For Scheduled castes and scheduled tribes candidates the amounts are 5,000 and 2,500 respectively. A candidate will forfeit his deposit if he polls less than one-sixth of the total valid votes cast in a First-past-the-post voting voting system.

Malaysia

In Malaysia, the deposit is RM 10,000 to contest a parliamentary seat and RM 5,000 to contest a state assembly seat (increased from RM 5,000 and RM 3,000, respectively, in 2004). Since 2004, it was required that each candidate provide an additional RM 5,000 deposit for cleaning up banners and posters after the election. This increase is seen by some as having led to the government winning a record number of seats without contest in 2004 (17 parliamentary seats were won without contest). The deposit is used to pay for infringements of election laws and is returned after polling day unless the candidate loses and fails to garner more than 1/8 of the vote.
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