Polls 'need independent monitor'

Published on Sunday 28 October 2007 01:19

ELECTIONS in Scotland should be overseen by an independent official as part of a bid to restore public confidence in the ballot box, former Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said today.

Writing in Scotland on Sunday, he said overall responsibility for administering elections should be taken away from politicians and given to a new Chief Returning Officer.

Alexander, who has been partly blamed for May's election chaos, said no politician should be in the same position as he was at the time of the poll, effectively ruling over the style and operation of the vote.

Last week, an official report into the May fiasco, written by independent expert Ron Gould, concluded that voters had been "treated as an afterthought" by politicians.

He singled out ministers for criticism, only to state later last week that he included all politicians in his comments.

In his article, Alexander, now International Development Secretary, said he accepts Gould's recommendation that a new Chief Returning Officer should be created in Scotland, with overall responsibility for administering the election.

He writes: "Not least so that no future Scottish secretary or other elected politician finds himself in the position I was in, I believe immediate and serious consideration should be given to creating a Chief Returning Officer to Scotland."