Fife Council told its election count delay 'beggars belief'
Fife Council's decision to delay the counting of votes following the Scottish Parliament election has come in for further criticism.
- By Claire Warrender
- Published in the Courier : 31.03.11
- Published online : 31.03.11 @ 11.58am
Glenrothes and Central Fife MP Lindsay Roy has called on the local authority to "get its act together" and scrap its controversial plans.
It was revealed last week that the council will not start counting the votes to elect MSPs until the morning after the poll on May 5, meaning that the results will not be known until well into the afternoon of May 6.
This means voters in Fife will be among the last in Scotland to know who their new Holyrood representative is to be. The Western Isles and Stirling are understood to be the only other councils planning to delay the overnight count.
Fife Council says the decision has been brought about due to constraints imposed on the count — partly due to the fact that the Alternative Vote (AV) referendum is being held at the same time as the election — and that a count on the Friday is the best option.
However, a number of candidates from across the political spectrum have expressed outrage, saying the election night tradition is being sacrificed to cut costs.
Mr Roy said, "This is just not on and the council needs to have a serious rethink. It beggars belief that Scotland's third-largest local authority can't manage to put arrangements in place to ensure a speedy count.
"Yes, it is quite clearly ill advised to hold the election and the AV referendum together but the count to elect MSPs must take primacy and should be held right after the polls close.
"Fife Council must not use the fact that an additional count has to be made as an excuse to delay things."
However, depute returning officer Iain Grant said, "It's our job to make sure the election is run smoothly, fairly and democratically in the interest of the voter. It's a big responsibility and one we take very seriously.
"This year the returning officer has decided to count the votes for the Scottish Parliament elections on Friday, May 6, rather than through the previous night."
Mr Grant said there were a number of reasons for this including:
► Directions from the Electoral Commission regarding the verification of ballot paper accounts.
► Direction that the referendum count is not to start until 4pm on May 6 and, if overnight counting took place, a declaration would be unlikely until 5am.
► Constraints in speeding up the counts including staffing and the size of the count centres.
"The question of the timing of election counts has been an issue for a number of years, particularly following the 2007 Scottish Parliamentary Election and the difficulties that arose in the count then," he said.
Meanwhile Mr Grant revealed that preparations for the big day on May 5 are progressing well in Fife.
"Over the weeks running up to the election we have been dealing with the nominations of the candidates for the elections, making sure polling stations and venues where the votes are counted are fully equipped and up and running, and preparing for the count itself," he said.
With three ballot papers to deal with this year, the Electoral Commission is issuing an explanatory booklet to every household over the course of the next few weeks.
Electoral registration officer Lawrence Cooper is keen to make sure that all Fifers eligible to vote are on the electoral register.
"You have until April 15 to register to vote in this election," Mr Cooper said. "If you are uncertain whether you are registered to vote, want to change your details or apply for an absent vote, contact the Electoral Registration Office."
For more information call 08451 55 55 11, email voters.roll@fife.gov.uk or visit www.fifedirect.org.uk/elections
12.04pm - 01.04.2011 William Beveridge - Glenrothes, United Kingdom Report This
Since when was Fife the 3rd largest local Authority in Scotland? If staff numbers are the reason it's an outright scandal when one looks at the map of the country and checks land area and population!!
11.28pm - 28.04.2011 Calum W - Freuchie, Fife Report This
William, in population terms it is the third largest council area in Scotland. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subdivisions_of_Scotland#Council_areas Don't jump to conclusions before you actually know the facts.
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