Election inquiry must now run its course

6.43.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 23rd May 2007

Over 140,000 ballots were spoiled in the Scottish Parliament elections on May 3rd

Jo Swinson has backed Ron Gould to lead the Electoral Commission's inquiry into the Scottish Parliament elections.

Jo gave her support in Parliament during the Conservatives' opposition day debate on the election inquiry.

Commenting after the debate, she said:

"The elections on 3rd May were an embarrassing shambles. The Scotland Office made a complete mess of one of the few jobs it still has responsibility for.

"Ron Gould has the independence and expertise to lead the Electoral Commission's inquiry. The scope of the inquiry has been set and we should now let it do its job.

Jo also called for the single transferable vote system used in the local elections to be adopted for the Scottish Parliament elections:

"Amid the chaos on 3rd May, voters coped well with the single transferable vote ballot for the local elections. The same STV system should now be introduced for Scottish Parliament elections, to give voters a fair and uniform means of casting their vote."

Appointed recently to head the Commission's inquiry, Ron Gould is an international authority on the organisation and management of elections, having led and participated in more than 100 election observation missions in over 70 countries.

Jo has brought forward a Bill in Westminster, the Scottish Parliament Elections Bill, to introduce STV for Scottish Parliament elections. A motion has also been put forward by Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Nicol Stephen in Holyrood calling for the introduction of STV.

Related Link:

Read the full debate in Parliament