Report: Council elections well-run

Sep 11 2012

The council elections in May were well-run, according to a report by an independent watchdog.

The report, published by the Electoral Commission, revealed that 89% of voters were confident that the local government vote was managed well.

A total of 98% of people who voted at a polling station said they were very or fairly satisfied with the process while 97% of postal voters were very or fairly satisfied.

The previous local election in 2007 was marred by delays, problems with electronic counting equipment and an increase in the number of invalid ballot papers.

The Electoral Management Board (EMB) for Scotland was given the role of co-ordinating the administration of the elections for 2012.

The report found that the work undertaken by the board led to improvements for voters, with all returning officers meeting the Commission's standards for well-run polls.

John McCormick, Electoral Commissioner for Scotland said: "Our focus is on voters, so I am pleased that they were satisfied with their experience of voting at these elections. This is testimony to the hard work of election staff across Scotland.

"We have come a long way since the problems of the 2007 council elections but it would be a mistake to think that we can rest now.

"There will be a European Parliament election in 2014 and potentially a referendum to decide the future of Scotland.

"The EMB will need to act now to set in place the structures and resources they will need to co-ordinate these polls and to ensure they are run to the standards that voters expect."