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Scottish Parliament - 27th January 2000 |
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AYR BY-ELECTION TO BE HELD ON THURSDAY 16 MARCH - PRESIDING OFFICER The Scottish Parliament?s Presiding Officer has decided that the polling date for the Ayr by-election should be Thursday, 16 March. Sir David Steel had given serious consideration to an experimental Saturday polling day but, under existing laws, there is doubt about the legality of a Saturday poll. Sir David said: "As a Parliament, we are always trying to be innovative and forward looking, and for that reason I gave serious consideration to the possibility of holding the Ayr by-election on a Saturday as an experiment. This would have avoided disruption to schools and allowed the poll to take place on a day which for most people is a non-working one. "However, the position as to the legality of holding a poll on a Saturday is unclear and I am not prepared to take a risk with such an important event. For that reason I have chosen a Thursday date. "I am still keen to pursue the possibility of a Saturday date for any future by-election we may have and for that reason I have written today to Dr John Reid, Secretary of State for Scotland, drawing attention to the subordinate legislation which appears to prevent a Saturday poll. "I have consulted fully with the Returning Officer in Ayr and the main political parties before reaching this decision. I shall be writing to the Returning Officer asking him to publish a notice of election which will explain the nomination procedures for this election. Under the legislation, the notice of election must be published between 7 and 16 February." Rule 2 of Schedule 2 of the Scottish Parliament (Elections etc) Order 1999 is the relevant subordinate legislation. Ian Welsh, who was elected in May to serve as constituency MSP for Ayr, officially resigned on December 21, 1999. In terms of Section 9 of the Scotland Act 1998, the Presiding Officer is required to fix the date of the election to fill the vacancy. The poll must be held within the period of three months from the occurrence of the vacancy. The Presiding Officer decided that the by-election campaign should be held after the new electoral register is published in mid-February. For further information the Media Contact is: Andrew Slorance: 0131 34 85389 E-mail: sp.media@scottish.parliament.uk For public information enquiries, please contact: tel: 0131 348 5000 For general enquiries, contact: 0845 278 1999 (local call rate) email: sp.info@scottish.parliament.uk Visit our website at: www.scottish.parliament.uk |
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