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Watchdog criticises 'unprecedented' government offer to delay local elections
The elections watchdog has criticised the government for offering to consider delaying 63 local council elections next year - as five authorities confirmed to Sky News that they would ask for a postponement.
On Thursday, hours before parliament began its Christmas recess, the government revealed that councils were being sent a letter asking if they thought elections should be delayed in their areas due to challenges around delivering local government reorganisation plans. The chief executive of the Electoral Commission, Vijay Rangarajan, hit out at the announcement on Friday, saying he was "concerned" that some elections could be postponed, with some having already been deferred from 2025.
"We are disappointed by both the timing and substance of the statement. Scheduled elections should, as a rule, go ahead as planned, and only be postponed in exceptional circumstances," he said in a statement.
"Decisions on any postponements will not be taken until mid-January, less than three months before the scheduled May 2026 elections are due to begin. "This uncertainty is unprecedented and will not help campaigners and administrators who need time to prepare for their important roles." Mr Rangarajan added: "We very much recognise the pressures on local government, but these late changes do not help administrators.
Parties and candidates have already been preparing for some time, and will be understandably concerned." He said "capacity constraints" were not a "legitimate reason for delaying long planned elections.
Amir Nisi
Creative and experienced content writer with 6+ years of experience lazy to create unique content strategy for News5 to turn website visitors into customers.
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