Writing In A Candidate For President

Chapter One GENERAL PROVISIONS

Presidential Election

Article Ⅰ

The president of the Party shall be elected by vote, in accordance with the Rules for the Election of President of the Party, by Diet Members of the Liberal Democratic Party and ordinary Liberal Democratic Party members as well as members of the Liberal National Congress and National Political Association.

Administrating Presidential Election

Article Ⅱ

The election for Party president (hereafter called "presidential election") shall be administrated by the Party Presidential Election Administration Committee.

Party-Headquarters' Presidential Election Administration Committee

Article Ⅲ

The Party shall locate the Party Presidential Election Administration Committee (hereafter called "Party-Headquarters' Administration Committee") at the Party Headquarters.

It shall consist of eleven members.
Committee members shall be appointed by the Party president from among the Party Diet members and their term shall be three years.
The committee shall have a chairman.
The chairman of the Committee shall be elected from among its members.
The chairman of the Committee shall convene the Committee's meetings and administrate the Committee.
The chairman must appoint one of the Committee members to be acting chairman in the case that the chairman is prevented from performing his or her duties.
The proceedings of the Committee shall be decided by the agreement of the majority of the members present and at the time of evenly divided the chairman shall cast his or her vote.

Prefectural Presidential Election Administration Committee

Article Ⅳ

The Prefectural Administration Committee for the presidential election (hereafter called "Prefectural Administration Committee") shall be located at the Party Federation branch in each prefecture.

It shall consist of five members.
The members shall be appointed by the president of the prefectural Party Federation branch from among members of the Federation and their term shall be three years.
Clauses 4 to 8 of the preceding Article shall be applied similarly to the Prefectural Administration Committee.

Independent Decisions

Article Ⅴ

Besides the rules stipulated in this Rules for the Election of President, each prefectural Administration Committee shall make autonomous decisions regarding matters before the Administration Committee after having received recommendations from the Party Headquarters' Administration Committee, and the Party Headquarters' Administration Committee shall make autonomous decisions regarding the matters before the Administration Committee itself.

Chapter Two Voters

Voters

Article Ⅵ

Those eligible to vote in the Party Presidential election (hereafter called "voters") shall be Party Diet Members and Japanese nationals twenty years of age or over who have satisfied the following conditions

1) Party members who paid Party dues for the previous two years
2) Members of the Liberal National Congress who paid Party dues for the previous two years
3) Members of the National Political Association or a representative from each corporate member of the Association approved by the Party Headquarters' Administration Committee.

Party Federation branches shall assure the eligibility of ordinary Party members and members of the Liberal National Congress and National Political Association (hereafter called "Party members and others"), other than Party Diet Members.
Party organs and Party members and others can request an assurance of eligibility to the Party Federation of each branch if questioned.

Voters List

Article Ⅶ

Prefectural Administration Committee shall make a voters list of Party members (hereafter "voters list") by collating it with the Register of the Party membership kept in the Party Headquarters, that of the Liberal National Congress and that of individual members and corporate members of the National Political Association, and shall afterwards keep it.

The name, the address and the registration number of each eligible voter should be listed on the register.
Party Members and others can have access to the list during the period determined by the Party Headquarters' Administration Committee.
Party Headquarters, Party Federation branches and each branch shall not allow the public to view the register.

Chapter Three Election Date

Timing of Presidential Elections

Article Ⅷ

Regarding the timing of a presidential election, Party Headquarters shall decide and announce with the approval of the General Council one month in advance of the termination of office of the president (or immediate extraordinary presidential election in the case of a vacancy for president during his or her tenure).

The Party Headquarters' Administration Committee shall decide the election schedule, including the announcement day of the Party Presidential election, the date of the election, and the closing day for the application of candidates.
The presidential election shall be announced no later than twelve days prior to the election date for Party Diet members (hereafter called "vote of Party Diet members").
The election date for the vote of the Party Diet members shall be within ten working days in advance of the termination of office of the president.

Chapter Four Candidate for the President

Candidate Eligibility

Article Ⅸ

Those eligible to vote in the presidential election shall be Diet members of the Liberal Democratic Party.

The Nomination of the Candidate for the President

Article Ⅹ

Only those members nominated by at least twenty Party Diet members shall be accepted as candidates.

When a nomination is received as described in the preceding clause, one representative of the nomination group shall inform the Party Headquarters in writing of the nomination with the consent of the candidate himself or herself on the announcement day of the Party Presidential election. In this event, the name of a campaign manager shall also be provided.
When a notification of nomination is received as described in the preceding clause, written declarations by the candidate and his or her campaign manager to carry out a fair presidential election shall be provided.
The person who is in the office of president for three consecutive terms cannot seek a fourth term (except under certain tenure as stipulated in Clause Three Article Eighty of the Party Constitution).

Announcement to the Voters

Article ⅩⅠ

Upon the receiving the notification stipulated in Clause 2 of the preceding article, the Party Headquarters' Administration Committee shall immediately publicize the candidates' names, the date of presidential election and that of the Party Convention to the party newspaper to notify voters following the closure of the notification period.

The Party Headquarters' Administration Committee shall immediately publicize the candidates' platforms through the party organ newspaper, and deliver this to all the eligible voters following the closure of the notification period.

Election Campaigning

Article ⅩⅡ

Campaigns during a presidential election shall be performed under the auspices of the Party Headquarters' Administration Committee and no other organization.

No one shall perform any action that damages the integrity, transparency or the fairness of the election.
If an action that significantly damages the honor of the Party occurs during the campaign period, the Party Headquarters' Administration Committee shall refer this matter to the Party Ethics Committee for their consideration.

Chapter Five Voting and Ballot Counting

Election Procedures

Article ⅩⅢ

In the Party presidential election, Party Diet members' ballots and those of the voting Party members (hereafter called "Party members' ballots") shall be cast to the candidates.

Principle of Voting

Article ⅩⅣ

Each Diet member and voter shall be entitled to one vote in each ballot.

Voting shall by single-entry ballot.
Diet members shall go to the polling place in person to cast ballots on the voting day.
The voting methods of Party members shall be determined by the respective prefectural Administration Committee, either by postal ballot or on-site polling place balloting, or a combination of both in each prefecture.

Vote of Diet Members

Article ⅩⅤ

In the presidential election, Diet members shall cast their ballots at the polling place prepared at the Party Headquarters during the voting hours which are determined by the Party Headquarters' Administration Committee.

Diet members shall write down the name of a candidate on a ballot issued by the Party Headquarters' Administration Committee at the polling booth and place it into the ballot box provided by the Committee.

Voting of Party Members

Article ⅩⅥ

The voting by Party members shall be conducted following the notification by Party Headquarters, no later than one day prior to the polling date of Diet members.

The voters shall write down the name of Presidential candidate on a ballot issued by prefectural Administration Committees, and in the case of postal balloting mail this to their prefectural Administration Committee. In the case of on-site balloting, they shall cast a ballot in the ballot box prepared in the polling place.
Party members' postal ballots shall close one day prior to voting by Diet members; all ballots should be received at the post office designated by each prefectural Administration Committee on that day.
In the case of on-site balloting, each prefectural Administration Committee shall arrange the polling place, voting date and hours, and voting procedures regarding voting by Party members.

Vote Counting

Article ⅩⅦ

The ballots cast by Diet members shall be counted immediately upon the official declaration of the closure of the election on the same day at the vote counting place in the Party Headquarters.

Each prefectural Administration Committee shall commence the counting of the votes cast by Party members simultaneously with the counting of the ballots cast by Diet members on the same voting day for the Diet members.
Each prefectural Administration Committee shall decide the place for counting the Party members' votes.

Spoiled Ballots

Article ⅩⅧ

The following votes shall be deemed invalid.

1) The ballot paper is not official
2) The name written down on the ballot is not the name of any candidates including that of the candidate who has withdrawn from the Presidential race.
3) Two or more candidates' names are written down.
4) The name written is illegible.

Administrative Matters on the Presidential Election for Party Members

Article ⅩⅨ

Party Headquartersƌ Administration Committee and prefectural Administration Committees shall handle administrative matters related to the presidential election for Party members.

Chapter Six Calculating Party Members' Ballots

Party Members' Computed Votes

Article ⅩⅩ

The compilation of Party members' votes shall be performed at each prefecture by totaling the number of votes, and the computation of them shall be performed at the Party Headquarters' Administration Committee.

Candidates are allocated the votes by Party members as per the following manner (hereafter called "Party members' computed votes").
In each prefecture, the total of ballots cast by Party members to each candidate is divided by an integer: the divisor in the first round is one and thereafter two, three, till the number of allocated votes is reached. A candidate who has the highest quotient wins the first round and gains one computed vote. In the second round, a candidate who has a quotient of the next highest will win and gain one computed vote. The process will continue until all the allocated votes to the prefecture are apportioned. The total of each candidate's computed votes gained in each prefecture shall be aggregated as the total of all prefectures.

Chapter Seven The Successful Candidate

The Number of Ballots

Article ⅩⅩⅠ

The number of votes obtained by each candidate in the presidential election shall be the sum of the number of ballots cast by the Diet members and Party members' computed votes.

The Elected

Article ⅩⅩⅡ

In the presidential election, those who obtained a majority of the valid vote of the Diet members' ballots and the total of Party member calculated ballots (this is referred as the "valid vote" in the next article) shall be declared elected.

Final Vote

Article ⅩⅩⅢ

If no candidate receives majorities of valid votes on the first ballot, the final vote by the Diet members and 47 prefectures' votes shall be held between the two highest ranked candidates as stipulated in Article ⅩⅩⅠ on the same day, and those who obtained more votes than the other shall be declared elected.

When the final vote is performed as stipulated in the preceding clause and if the candidate who should perform this final vote withdraws, the final vote between the next two higher rank persons of the presidential election shall be performed, and the person who obtained more numbers than the other shall be declared elected. However, if there is only one candidate left due to another candidate's withdrawal from the presidential election, that person shall be declared elected.
If the numbers of votes obtained by the Presidential candidates at the first round are the same in setting two higher rank persons who should perform the final vote as stipulated in the Article ⅩⅩⅠ, or if the numbers of votes obtained by the two are the same in setting the elected, the final decision shall be made by the Party Headquarters' Administration Committee.
The final vote shall be held according to the vote of Diet members and 47 prefectures' votes. Regarding the Party members' computed votes of prefectures, among the two finalists those who wins the more numbers of ballots in each prefecture shall obtain one vote each, and the sum of these votes of the finalists shall be counted in the final vote.

Elected Unopposed

Article ⅩⅩⅣ

If there is only one candidate for President or one candidate is left due to another's withdrawal, the presidential election shall not be performed, and that person shall be declared elected.

Report of the Elected

Article ⅩⅩⅤ

When the elected is determined, the Party Headquarters' Administration Committee shall report the result of the presidential election to the chairman of the Party Convention.

The chairman of the Party Convention shall report the result of the presidential election to the Party Convention based on the report outlined in the preceding clause.

Chapter Eight Objections to a Decision

Article ⅩⅩⅥ

Those who are dissatisfied with the procedures of the presidential election stipulated in this Rules for the Election of the President can file a complaint to the appropriate Election Administration Committee which has jurisdiction over the matter.

When an objection described in the preceding clause is made, the Election Administration Committee shall promptly adjudicate the matter.
Those who are dissatisfied with arbitration made by prefectural Administration Committees can file a complaint to the Party Headquarters' Administration Committee.
No objection is allowed against the arbitration made by the Party Headquarters' Administration Committee.

Supplementary

Revised Versions of Rules for the Election of President Became Effective on the Following Dates:
January 18, 2002.
January 17, 2007.
March 17, 2013.
January 19, 2014.
March 5, 2017.