Nomination packs now available for May elections

Nomination packs for prospective candidates in the upcoming Moray Council elections are available from today.

Voters will go to the polls on Thursday, May 4 to elect 26 councillors in eight multi-member wards.

Completed nomination papers will require to be returned to the elections office at Moray Council between next Tuesday, March 14 – when nominations officially open – and the deadline of 4pm on Wednesday, March 29.

Councillors will be elected using the single transferable voting (STV) system which enables electors to vote for more than one candidate by ranking them in order of preference on the ballot paper using numbers 1, 2,3 and so on.

Of the eight wards, Heldon/Laich and Forres both have four councillors while the others – Speyside/Glenlivet, Keith/Cullen, Fochabers/Lhanbryde, Buckie, Elgin North and Elgin South- each have three councillors.

Successful candidates will serve a five-year term as councillors.

For the first time in Scottish local government elections, 16 and 17-year-olds are eligible to vote provided they are registered.

However, the minimum age for candidates standing for election remains at 18.

Nomination packs for the Moray Council elections are available by e-mailing election.enquiries@moray.gov.uk or by calling the elections office on 01343 563334.

Moray Council area stretches from Tomintoul in the south to the shores of the Moray Firth, from Keith in the east to Forres in the west. The council and its 4,500 employees respond to the needs of 95,510 residents in this beautiful part of Scotland, which nestles between Aberdeenshire and the Highlands.

Famous for its colony of dolphins, fabulous beaches and more malt whisky distilleries than any where else in Scotland, Moray is a thriving area and a great place to live.

Headquartered in  Elgin, the administrative capital of Moray.