Following the answers given to Tynwald yesterday, the Minister for Infrastructure, Tim Baker MHK, has confirmed that the local authority elections will go ahead tomorrow (Thursday 22 July), as planned.
The Minister said:
'My Department has looked at all the options that are legally possible and it has worked with the local authority staff who have responsibility for running the elections to understand the operational issues that they are facing. Clearly, anything that is introduced at this very late stage has to be easy to implement by returning officers, clear to the public and legally sound.
'Any legal change would have had to be approved by Tynwald before the polling stations open at 8am tomorrow, Election Day. We kept looking at the possibilities until the last moment but have had to accept that it was not possible to find a solution that was legal, workable and effective.'
'The elections will go ahead as planned in those areas where seats are being contested.'
