Distinctive party names and their abbreviations in the provincial lists of candidates

(1) In case more than one provincial list of candidates should carry the same or hardly distinguishable party name or abbreviation, the provincial returning officer has to call in the representatives of these proposals for a meeting and to form an agreement concerning a differentiation between the different party names or their abbreviations. When such an agreement cannot be reached, the provincial elections authorities have to accept any party name which has already featured on lists of candidates for a National Council election within the last ten years. The remaining proposals for the provincial elections should be named after the first candidate entered in each of them. The same applies to all abbreviations, provided that the provincial elections authorities cancel all abbreviations on the remaining proposals for the provincial elections. 

(2) Any provincial list of candidates which does not carry an explicit party name should likewise be named after the first candidate entered in it.

(3) When a provincial list of candidates has to be named after the first candidate featuring in it (name list) and the name of this person is the same as, or is hardly to be differentiated from, the name of the first person on the list of another party, the provincial returning officer has to call in the representative of this list of candidates for a meeting and urge them to nominate another person to head the list whose name will not lead to any confusion. When under such circumstances no other person is nominated to head the list, the respective provincial list of candidates is considered invalid.