Telford and Wrekin Press Release Published on 24 March 2011
The starting gun will be fired tomorrow beginning the six week process that leads to local elections in Telford and Wrekin on Thursday 5 May.
The formal publication of notice of election on 25 March starts the process of elections for all the 54 seats on Telford & Wrekin Council and all of the borough’s 26 town and parish councils.
The elections, which are held every four years, will be held on the same day as the national referendum on the Alternative Voting system.
Over the coming weeks, Telford & Wrekin Council will be contacting voters in the borough sending out polling cards and then before Easter issuing postal votes to more than one third of electors in the borough, one of the highest proportions nationally, who chose to vote this way.
The Council will publish the list of candidates standing for election on 6 April, while anyone who isn’t registered to vote or wants to register to vote by post has until 5pm on 14 April to do so.
Details about the elections including forms for registering to vote, applying for postal voting can all be found at www.telford.gov.uk/elections or by calling 01952 383206.
The results of the election will be counted overnight on 5 May, with parish council and referendum votes counted the next day.
Victor Brownlees, the borough’s acting returning officer, said:
“A huge amount of work goes into planning and running elections and this year we have three polls on the same day.
“I hope that as many people in the borough will get involved in and take part in these elections as possible because the decisions that councillors make affect the lives of local people every day and 5 May will decide the direction of this council for the next four years.
“Having a vibrant and lively local democracy plays a very important part in ensuring that people are involved in and understand how and why these decisions are made.”
