Skills and Eligibility to Become a Councillor

There are a certain number of requirements and considerations in becoming a councillor should you be elected:

Skills required to be a Councillor

There are certain personal skills that Councillors should have or pursue in order to become effective representatives and decision-makers;

• Communication and presentation skills to express needs of local residents during meetings and become a voice for the Council;
• Interpersonal skills when managing surgeries and conversing with the community;
• Commitment towards representation of the electorate;
• Decisive, quick thinker;
• Maintain an objective, analytical and critical mind;
• Be a strategic thinker with the ability to deal with a variety of issues;
• Able to process large amounts of complex information, such as financial budgets;
• Negotiation abilities to resolve disagreements and conflict;
• Knowledge of IT such as email and Microsoft Word;
• Leadership ability to chair meeting;
• Effective reader

Training is available to all successful candidates in their new roles as Councillors.

Eligibility to become a Councillor

Before you put yourself forward as a candidate for election you should note the following legal conditions/requirements as noted under Section 29 of the Local Government Act 1973:
You must be:

• At least 18 years of age
• A qualifying British Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Irish Republic or a relevant citizen of the European Union

Also

• A local government elector for the area of Moray Council and are registered on the Electoral Register on the day of becoming a candidate and the day of the election or;
• You have occupied or resided, as owner or a tenant, any land or premises in the Moray Council area during the whole of the 12 months before the day you become a candidate or;
• Your principal or only place of work in the twelve months preceding the day on which you are nominated as a candidate has been in the area of the authority; or has, during the whole of the twelve months preceding the day on which he is nominated as a candidate, resided in the area of the authority.

You are not eligible to become a candidate if:

• You were a person (ex-councillor) who has received a severance payment (within the meaning of section 12 of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 (asp 9))
• Are subject to any legal incapacity
• Been declared bankrupt
• Had any of your estate sequestrated (seized)
• Had a criminal sentence of more than 3 months (suspended or not) without the option of a fine, during the previous 5 years
• You or your business partner are in paid employment of Moray Council or a member of any joint committee, the expenses of which are defrayed (paid) in part by the Council (please contact the elections office for more information about this clause).

More information about the nomination and election process

If you are unsure whether you meet the conditions above please contact the elections office on 01343 563334 or email election.enquiries@moray.gov.uk