A by-election for the seat of late Labour councillor Val Walker will be held on Thursday, 26 June, it has been announced.
Cllr Walker, who represented the Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart ward, passed away unexpectedly last month.
Edinburgh’s chief executive and returning officer Paul Lawrence said: “I want to reiterate my condolences to Councillor Walker’s family, friends, and colleagues.
“Her passing has resulted in the vacancy for the Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart ward. I’d urge all residents in the ward to make sure they are registered and have their details or preference of how they would like to vote up to date in plenty of time.
“Details on how to register, where to vote or how to vote by post can be found on the Council website.”
The Green group has already announced their candidate as Q Manivannan, a member of the Tamil community who moved to Scotland in 2021.
They said: “My heart goes out to the family, friends and colleagues of Val with her very sudden passing. In the wake of all the harsh things happening in the world right now, I want to bring new energy, new ideas and a more caring style to the City Chambers.
“I am excited to be standing here in Fountainbridge-Craiglockhart. Ours is a Green area which twice elected former councillor Gavin Corbett, with the highest Green vote in Scotland.”
Next month’s vote will take place using the Single Transferrable Vote system, with electors ranking their preferences for candidates and being free to select as many or as few candidates as they like.
Polls will be open from 7am to 10pm on election day. The deadline to register for the election will be midnight on Tuesday, 10 June.
If registering for a new postal vote, the deadline is 5pm on Wednesday, 11 June, and if registering for a proxy vote, the deadline is 5pm on Wednesday, 18 June.There are currently 18,563 electors on the roll in the ward.
By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency. It is funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector (in Edinburgh that is Reach plc (the publisher behind Edinburgh Live and The Daily Record) and used by many qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover news about top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.
