Nominations are now open for candidates seeking to run in this May’s local elections.
There are two sets of elections taking place. The first is to Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC) local authority, while the second set of elections is to Bridgend’s twenty town and community councils.
Full guidance on standing in the local authority/county borough elections is available from the Electoral Commission. There’s similar guidance for anyone seeking to stand in the town & community council elections.
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This happens more often at town/community council level than county borough level, but it’s not uncommon.
If there’s only one seat and one candidate, then that candidate is elected unopposed (“uncontested seat”).
Similarly, if there’s more than one seat and too few candidates to fill them, any remaining seats are usually left vacant.
At the county level, this would likely trigger a by-election to fill the vacancy.
Although town/community councils may decide to hold a by-election too, more often than not they may decide in favour of co-option. Co-option is where the council decides – after an application process – to appoint someone to the vacancy/vacancies instead of holding a by-election (which may be disproportionately expensive).
