OVER 40% OF THOSE eligible to vote in a community council election took the time to return their ballot papers this week.
As a result five new members were elected to the Portknockie Community Council, allowing it to resume operations with a full complement of 10 members.
The new members will be Diane Anderson, Elaine Davidson, Andy Dewar, John Herd and Bert Reid, who will join the community council at their next regular meeting on Monday, September 14.
The election, which was carried out by a postal ballot, was triggered following a number of resignations which left the council at a point where one-third of the remaining members were co-opted.
The 42% turnout was the second highest since postal voting was introduced for community council elections in 2009. Of the 986 people eligible to vote, 414 did so.