The Electoral Commission has refuted claims made by MJ columnist and Newark and Sherwood DC chief executive Andrew Muter that the voting watchdog failed to provide enough guidance and support ahead of imminent by-election.
The election, sparked by the resignation of Conservative MP Patrick Mercer in the wake of a cash-for-access lobbying sting, is the first to be held under the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013.
Writing in this week's edition of The MJ, Mr Muter complained there is no available guidance for local returning officers on how to implement the Act, which has altered he gap between the close of nominations and the date of the poll.
He complained all guidance on running parliamentary elections had been removed from the Electoral Commission's website and no new guidance had been issued.
Mr Muter said the short notice of the by-election, combined with the two bank holidays in the election period, meant ‘it's easy to get things wrong, and getting them wrong can result in an unwelcome appearance in court'.
But in response, an Electoral Commission spokesman said its local team made contact with Newark's elections team as soon as the writ for the by-election was issued.
‘Parliamentary by-elections naturally place pressure on elections staff, but what's absolutely vital is that voters' and campaigners' needs are met,' an Electoral Commission spokesman said.
‘That's why our local team got in touch with the Newark elections team as soon as the writ for the by-election was issued.
The spokesman insisted the returning officer was responsible for preparing the election timetable.
‘While the Newark elections team did not asked for our advice beforehand, as soon as we saw the timetable didn't fully reflect the bank holidays, we contacted them to help them understand what they could do about this,' the spokesman added.
‘The Electoral Commission will continue to support to the returning officer and his staff, and have most recently been in contact to confirm the steps that will be taken to rectify an error in postal ballot packs.'
