Candidates are set to saddle up
Published 29 Mar 2012 12:30
Share this
VOTERS will this week be urged to back their councillors for the elections on Thursday May 3.
Runners and riders in the race for a seat will be desperate to suck in support - and the electoral battleground of Renfrewshire is wide open.
On Thursday 3 May Renfrewshire voters will head to the ballot boxes where they will select the councillors they feel will best represent their ward.
In the next few weeks The Gazette will bring you full pre-election build up with a guide to your candidates.
In our special election features each candidate will answer a question concerning a topical issue which affects their respective ward. The Renfrewshire council area is split into 11 wards with around 10,000 electorate in each.
During the last local election in 2007 voter turnout averaged at around 55 per cent of the electorate.
Bishopton, Bridge of Weir and Langbank ward showed the greatest turnout of its electorate with 65 per cent of the 8,944 eligible voters choosing to make their vote count.
In May the election will be conducted under the 'Single Transferable Vote' (STV) system which sees people in each ward list their choices in order of preference.
Candidates are elected when they reach a certain number of votes, while those with the least are eliminated, based on the choices of voters.
Candidates representing a political party will have to be nominated although Independent Candidates can also stand for election.
A spokesperson for the Renfrewshire election team said: "There's still time to register to vote in the election and to secure a postal vote.
"A lot of information and guidance is available to help people take part in the democratic process."
Those interested in standing for election have until tomorrow (Thursday) at 4pm to fill out council nomination forms.
Nomination forms can be obtained from the Election Office at Lower Ground Floor, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley. The office is open on weekdays between 10am and 4pm.
A full nomination pack for prospective candidates is available to download from the council's website.
And for residents in the area there is still plenty of time to register to vote as applications must reach the electoral registration officer at The Robertson Centre, 16 Glasgow Road, Paisley PA1 3QF by 18 April.
Any elector may apply for a postal or proxy vote at this election and information about this can be obtained by contacting the Electoral Registration Officer on 0141 842 5922.
This article appeared in The Gazette 29 Mar 12
Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our News archives.
