Elections & Voting

The Electoral Services team are responsible for creating and maintaining the Register of Electors (Electoral Roll), as well as organising the delivery of all elections and referenda across the Havant area.

Types of Elections & Referenda

Elections are a democratic process conducted strictly in accordance with a statutory timetable, which is published at the time the election is called.

The Returning Officer who is appointed by the Council and in the case of Havant is also the Chief Executive Officer; is responsible for the conduct of elections and referenda held within the borough boundary; these include but are not limited to:

Parliamentary Election

General elections (elections to the UK Parliament) must be held within 5 years. However, the Government may hold the Parliamentary Election at any time within the five-year period, upon dissolution of Parliament. There is one MP per constituency.

Following 2023 Parliamentary Boundary Review, conducted by the Boundary Commission for England (BCE) there are 2 Constituencies within the Havant area: Havant and Fareham & Waterlooville.

There are 650 Members of Parliament (MPs) in the UK Parliament.

You can find your Local MP at: Find MPs - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament

Local Government Election

There are 12 Wards in Havant each represented by 36 Councillors. Havant Borough Council elect one third of the local councillors every 3 years and hold no election on the 4th year – this is known as a ‘Fallow year’. This means one councillor from each ward retires each election year.

You can find out who your Borough Councillors are by visiting our Your Councillors webpages.

Hampshire County Council - Local Government Election

Hampshire County Council elect all the local councillors every 4 years. The area of Havant Borough is represented by 6 county councillors.

You can find out who your County Councillors are by visiting: Your Councillors | Hampshire County Council

Police and Crime Commissioner Election

Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) make sure that the local police in their area are meeting the needs of the community.

There are 39 police areas across England and Wales with a PCC. Each area has one commissioner and take place every four years.

Police and Crime Commissioner elections will use first-past-the-post voting system.

The governing body in charge of conducting these elections across the UK appoint Regional or Police Area Returning Officers (PAROs). In recent years, the Returning Officer for Southampton City Council has also been appointed as the PARO for the local area.

More information on Police and Crime Commissioners can be found by visiting the Electoral Commission website at: Police and Crime Commissioners | Electoral Commission

By-election

By-elections are held when required.  If an elected member is no longer available to represent the electorate, a by-election can be called at any time for all types of elections.

By-elections can be called for several reasons, such as:

•  
  • Death of a councillor
  • Councillor moving out of the area
  • Councillor's change of employment

The statutory timetable for by-elections is the same as the timetable used for the relevant main election. This will be published at the time an election is called.

Referenda

A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate of an area is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may be the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy.

The referendum is a form of direct democracy and is governed by The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.

Table of Future Elections