NOMINATIONS ARE BEING sought for three Moray community councils which have fallen below the required number of members.
Interim elections have been called for the three – Cullen & Deskford, Portknockie and Dufftown & District – because of the number of resignations since the last regular community council elections were held in October 2013.
Under current rules for community councils in Scotland, an interim election is required when a point is reached where one-third of members have been co-opted but vacancies still remain.
In Cullen & Deskford six seats are available from a membership of nine, while at Portknockie five of the 10 seats are available. In Dufftown there are six seats available for 10 places on the community council.
Moray’s MP, Angus Robertson, urged people to think about putting their names forward, saying: “Community Council’s are an important part of our local democracy and bring a range of local perspectives and views on issues close to home for many of us.
“I would urge people in and around Cullen, Portknockie and Dufftown to submit nominations and seek to get involved.
Banffshire and Buchan Coast MSP Stewart Stevenson, whose constituency takes in Cullen and Portknockie, added: “I value the work of our local community councils and it is important that we get nominations coming forward to help ensure the community councils have good numbers to operate through their full term.”
Meanwhile Richard Lochhead MSP, whose constituency covers Dufftown, said: “I am in regular contact with community councils around Moray and they do a good job on covering local issues. It would be a shame if any found themselves having to fold through lack of numbers and I hope their will be plenty of nominations for this election.”
Potential candidates have until 4pm on Wednesday, July 22 to lodge nomination papers with the Moray Council election office – in the event of there being more candidates than seats available, an election will be held by postal ballot next month.
Nomination papers can be downloaded from the Moray Council Website or sent out on request by either calling Moray Council on 01343 563334 or by email to election.enquiries@moray.gov.uk.