Politicians, elections and democracy
North Ayrshire Council has 30 Councillors, each representing an electoral ward. We have 8 wards in North Ayrshire, 6 with 4 Councillors and 2 with 3 Councillors.
Members of the public may stand for election to the Council either as members of a registered political party (if nominated to do so) or as independent candidates. Councillors have a dual role in contributing to the decisions of the Council and in representing the people who live in their ward.
Councillors in Scotland are elected by a system of proportional representation where voters rank the candidates on the ballot paper in order of preference i.e. '1' for their 1st preference, '2' for their 2nd preference and so on. A formula is then applied to decide who gets elected as Councillor to each ward.
The current Council was elected in May 2007. The next Council elections will take place in May 2012.