Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947

24 Returning officer.

(1) At an election of town councillors of a burgh, the provost shall be the returning officer, but if the office of provost is at the time vacant or if the provost is one of the councillors falling to retire at the election or his term of office expires or he resigns office as at the date of the election or he is incapacitated from acting by illness, absence or other cause or he declines or fails to act, the acting chief magistrate as hereinafter defined shall be the returning officer, and if the provost and all the bailies fall to retire at the election or are prevented from acting or fail to act as returning officer for any of the reasons aforesaid, the town clerk or any fit person appointed by him shall act as returning officer.

(2) The returning officer may by writing under his hand appoint one or more fit persons to be his depute or deputes for all or any of the purposes of the election and anything required or authorised to be done by, to or before the returning officer in relation to the election may, so far as the depute is authorised to act, be done by, to or before any depute so appointed, and any reference in this Act to a returning officer shall, where a depute returning officer is acting for the returning officer under this subsection, include a reference to the depute returning officer.