(18 Apr 2015, 10:21 am)MrFozz wrote I wad reading about a candidate in London somewhere who died recently and he wil stay on the ballot...
What would happen if he won the vote, unless someone knows different, ghosts cannot take there seat in Parliament...
What would happen:-
1. Would the result stand?
2. Would the person in 2nd place be elected? or
3. Would it trigger an instant by-election?
I think the answers to your questions are:
1) Yes
2) No
3) Probably
Irrespective of whether a candidate is dead or alive, the result of the election would have to stand. The person who is second place cannot be declared the winner if someone else has beaten them fair and square. Our version of democracy, described by Lord Hailsham as an elective dictatorship, demands the candidate who receives the most votes is declared the winner of the contest. Under FPTP, it would not be democratic to declare whomever is second to be the victor regardless of circumstance. Obviously, a non-entity cannot take their seat in parliament which means the constituency is not represented - at least not on physical basis (metaphysics aside). Therefore, in all likelihood, it would trigger a by-election.