The Electoral Reform Act 2022 (the 2022 Act) was enacted on 25 July 2022 and section 1(5) provides that the provisions of the Act are subject to commencement orders being made.
The qualifying criteria for the registration of political parties are currently set out in section 25 of the Electoral Act 1992. Section 4(1)(h) of the 2022 Act repeals section 25 of the Electoral Act 1992 and section 45 of the 2022 Act restates the relevant qualifying criteria for the registration of political parties. These qualifying criteria remain unchanged. However, the 2022 Act does provide that the Chief Executive of An Coimisiún Toghcháin will become the Registrar of Political Parties and will be responsible for preparing and maintaining the Register of Political Parties. The relevant provisions of the 2022 Act have not yet been commenced.