No guarantee the ‘mismanaged’ Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire recount will be delivered today
For every minute that passes the doubt about the election of an MP to Westminster grows with count observers concerned about Highland Council’s lack of transparency over the recount.
In the latest development, there is no guarantee that the count will conclude today because the process of going through the votes is going slower in an effort to ensure accuracy.
Conservatives, Lib Dems and SNP are all saying that they have serious concerns about a lack of information. Conservatives, Lib Dems and SNP election staff are unified in their condemnation.
The election agents and other observers are convinced that the result will not change – the Lib Dems’ Angus MacDonald is the expected winner – but they are worried about the vote.
SNP candidate Drew Hendry’s election agent Jill McAlpine said: “We are getting more frustrated as this mismanaged election count goes on because of the dire lack of transparency from the returning officer.
“We have asked for the original provisional figures but he has refused to hand them over, saying that he ‘did not have confidence in them’ but how are we to have confidence in his decision that a fair and open election is taking place.
“All the party’s election teams are united about their desire for an open, honest and transparent count but we are struggling to get even essential information.
“I have been at so many counts over the years but this one has been totally mismanaged. There is no expectation that this fiasco is going to change the final result but the people deserve to know that their votes counted.”
The Liberal Democrats were in full agreement with that as well and there is some consideration about the next moves that may take the election out of the council’s hands.
Conservative candidate Ruraidh Stewart’s election agent Donald Mackenzie said: “The issue is that we do not know what the difference between the actual votes and those that they had is – if it was seven then it is fine, just a rounding error, I am not interested. If it was 700, then I am interested.
“They [officials] keep saying ‘transparent’ but we are not getting answers to our questions. In the meantime staff are here, they are spending taxpayers money and we have doubts.”
