Voters in Tain, Easter Ross, Caol and Mallaig will head to the polls on Thursday 25 September to elect two new Highland councillors.
The by-elections in Ward 7 (Tain and Easter Ross) and Ward 11 (Caol and Mallaig) will see 14 candidates competing for the vacant seats, with Highland Council encouraging voters to be prepared and make their vote count.
Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm, and voters can check their poll card or visit the council website to find their designated location.
No ID is needed to vote.
The council is also reminding people that the election will use the Single Transferable Vote system, meaning voters should rank candidates in order of preference, rather than placing a single X.
Postal voters who applied before the deadline should already have received their voting packs.
These can’t be used to vote in person, but if there’s not enough time to post them back, they can be handed in at any polling station within the relevant ward on polling day.
In Ward 7, voters in Fearn and Nigg should note that Fearn Primary School and Nigg Village Hall will not be used as polling places this time.
Instead, all in-person voters in those areas must vote at Balintore Seaboard Memorial Hall.
To help voters reach the new venue, a dial-a-bus service will operate between 9am–12pm and 1pm–2:30pm on Thursday 25 September.
Anyone wishing to use the service must book in advance by calling 01862 892166 before 6:30pm on Wednesday 24 September.
The full list of candidates for Ward 7 (Tain and Easter Ross) is:
- Manuel Androulakakis (Scottish Conservative and Unionist)
- Andrew Barnett (Scottish Greens)
- Peter Newman (Scottish National Party)
- Eric Nimmons (Independent)
- Connie Ramsay (Scottish Liberal Democrats)
- Stuart Wilson (Reform UK)
For Ward 11 (Caol and Mallaig), the candidates are:
- Sammy Cameron (Independent)
- Isla Maev Campbell (Scottish Liberal Democrats)
- Ryan Andrew Forbes (Reform UK)
- Allan Henderson (Independent)
- Donald Matheson Mackenzie (Scottish Conservatives and Unionist)
- Michael Robert Perera (Scottish Labour Party)
- Matthew Sam Prosser (Independent)
- Aaron Taylor (Scottish National Party)
Polling stations will be fully accessible, with aids including audio ballots and tactile overlays available for blind or partially sighted voters to vote independently and in private.
Counting of the votes will begin at 10am on Friday 26 September, and the results will be broadcast live via the Highland Council’s social media channels.
