Coronavirus: Electoral Commission recommends May local elections should be cancelled
Commission chief warns 'significant numbers' of people may not be able to vote due to outbreak
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Your support makes all the difference.Local elections in May should be postponed until the autumn due to the coronavirus pandemic, the UK’s Electoral Commission has said.
The independent body said there were “growing risks to the delivery of the polls”, which are scheduled to take place on 7 May.
“We've written to the UK government to recommend that the May polls be postponed until the autumn as a result of the coronavirus pandemic,” the Commission wrote on Twitter.
“This is due to growing risks to the delivery of the polls and to mitigate the impact on voters, campaigners & electoral administrators.”
Mayoral, council and police and crime commissioner candidates are all due to contest elections in May.
In an email to Chloe Smith, a Cabinet Office minister, the Commission's chief executive Bob Posner said the coronavirus outbreak could mean “significant numbers” of people would not be able to vote.
“We anticipate that as a result of the direct and indirect impacts of Covid-19, there will be significant numbers of registered electors who in practice will not have opportunity to vote, or feel inclined to vote,” Mr Posner said.
“While increased access to post and proxy voting may provide a partial solution for some electors, it would create further and additional pressures and risks in other parts of the system.”
The Commission chief added that postponing the elections was not desirable but the UK was in "unprecedented times" due to the outbreak.
Rory Stewart, a former Tory MP and independent candidate in the London mayoral election, has welcomed the “sensible recommendation” to postpone May’s elections.
Ms Smith, in response to a written parliamentary question released on Thursday about the government's election contingency plans, said: “The government continues to assess the impact of Covid-19 and is reviewing any implications for the delivery of public services on an ongoing basis.”
She added: “We are currently working to facilitate the local, mayoral, and police and crime commissioner elections on May 7 going ahead as planned.”
Additional reporting by PA
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