| The party had asked to see the marked register from the November poll — only to be told it had disappeared from Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.
The seat was held for Labour by Lindsay Roy, despite predictions the SNP would win.
In December, the SNP applied for a copy of the register, which must be kept by the sheriff clerk for a year after an election.
The register is the only record of who voted in the by-election, although it does not reveal how they voted. It’s feared it could have been removed during recent renovation work at the court.
Calling for an independent probe, Central Fife SNP MSP Tricia Marwick said the missing record placed a question mark over the election result.
“The sheriff clerk’s office are saying they are conducting their own investigation but I don’t think that’s good enough,” she said. “This is far too important and there needs to be an independent investigation into their handling of this.
“I’m not sure who should conduct that investigation but I’m inclining towards the fact it should be the Electoral Commission.
“The fact is they have gone. I haven’t a clue why or where they have gone but they have.”
Mrs Marwick said she was not suggesting any impropriety and did not intend to call in police or insist the election was re-run.
“I don’t think there has been foul play, but something like this reduces confidence in the running of an election and it needs to be looked at closely,” she said.
“The marked registers are an essential element of an election campaign. They allow a check of who voted to confirm the election was conducted properly.
“Without these records there is no evidence of either a fair or unfair election and that undermines the confidence of everyone.
“It is almost beyond belief that a by-election that attracted media coverage throughout the UK, which delivered a surprise result and had a much higher turnout than anticipated, now has no records to show who actually voted.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Court Service confirmed that the sheriff clerk at Kirkcaldy took receipt of the register.
He said the voting papers, which were deposited at the same time, were available, but the marked register was not.
“This is deeply regrettable and we are investigating the circumstances relating to this loss,” he said. |
