Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947

31 Meeting for election of provost, bailies and honorary treasurer.

(1) At the meeting of the town council to be held on the first Friday after the day of the annual election of the town councillors or at any adjournment thereof the council shall fill up by election all vacancies that may then exist in the offices of provost, bailie and honorary treasurer, and where more than one bailie is elected at the same time shall determine the order of seniority among the bailies so elected.

(2) If the town council fail to meet on the day mentioned or to fill any of the said vacancies at the said meeting or at any adjournment thereof, the council may fill the vacancy at any subsequent meeting of the council, but if the council fail to fill any such vacancy within the month of November the sheriff shall, on the application of any four local government electors for the burgh, appoint a councillor to fill the vacancy or, if none of the councillors is willing to accept the office, appoint a person to the office from among the local government electors for the burgh, and the person so appointed shall be a councillor of the burgh for all purposes, so however that his term of office shall expire at the next annual election of town councillors and he shall not be reckoned as part of the number of councillors falling to retire at that election, nor shall his appointment interfere in any way with the ordinary rotation of retirement of the other councillors.

(3) The returning officer at the annual election of town councillors or in the case of his absence the senior bailie present at the meeting or failing any bailie such one of the town councillors as may be selected by the meeting shall preside at the meeting mentioned in subsection (1) of this section:

Provided that the said person presiding shall preside—

(i) in the event of a vacancy in the. office of provost, only until the provost is elected;

(ii) if there is no such vacancy and the provost is absent or if there is such a vacancy and the person elected is absent, only until all the vacancies existing in the offices of bailie and honorary treasurer have been filled.

(4) In the case of a burgh formed after the commencement of this Act, the town council first elected shall hold their first meeting at twelve noon on the first Friday after the day of the first election of town councillors, and at that meeting the provost, bailies and honorary treasurer shall be elected. A person appointed by the sheriff shall preside at the meeting until the election of the provost.

(5) The election of a magistrate shall not be affected by reason only of any nullity or irregularity in the election of any other magistrate.