Leith Walk constituents will now be asked to elect two councillors in the forthcoming by-election – a Scottish first.
An official Notice of Election was published today, explaining how to stand as a candidate and who is eligible to vote.
The by-election will choose two new councillors for the City of Edinburgh Council, filling vacancies in the Leith Walk Ward following Green councillor Maggie Chapman’s resignation. This is in addition to Deidre Brock standing down from her role after being elected as a Member of Parliament for the Edinburgh North and Leith constituency.
The election will use the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system, where voters use numbers to rank candidates in order of preference rather than using a single cross. Voters can express ‘preferences’ for as many or as few of the candidates as they wish.
Two candidates will be elected following the vote, which is the first time an STV by-election has been needed to fill two vacancies in the same ward.
Sue Bruce, Returning Officer for Edinburgh, said: “This is the first time a Scottish council by-election has been held to fill more than one vacancy in a ward using the STV system.
“Voters need to remember that they can vote for as many candidates as they like – this time though, voters must show their choices by numbering the candidates on the paper, with one being their first choice. We look forward to working with the public in this important democratic process for Edinburgh.”
Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm on 10th September. Details of where these are will be announced shortly.
To register to vote or apply for a postal vote contact the Electoral Registration Office or phone 0131 344 2500 by 25 August.
We interviewed Marion Donaldson who is the Scottish Labour candidate just yesterday and you can read that interview here.
Edinburgh Greens are defending a seat in the ward with their candidate Susan Rae.
The party says it is confident that a Green councillor will be re-elected but is committed to earning every single vote.
Green candidate and local resident, Susan Rae said
“A by-election that was always going to hotly-contested now poses a stark choice. The Tories and Lib Dems are out of the running in Leith Walk. And the SNP, with its current stratospheric poll ratings, will feel pretty confident about a straight replacement for new MP Deidre Brock.
“So the real battle is for the second vacancy, to replace the Greens’ Maggie Chapman, the pioneer of £eith Decides which gives local people a real say over how council money is spent. That is a battle between re-electing a Green councillor, who will stand up to the Labour-SNP run council and its programme of massive cuts to services; and electing a third Labour councillor on top of the two existing Labour councillors in Leith Walk.
“I’ve already been out knocking on doors and talking to local businesses and community groups and I’m looking forward to the campaign!”
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