Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Count under way
Candidates in nervous wait to see poll results
ELECTION candidates faced an anxious wait today as counting got under way across Tayside and Fife in the council elections.
Several candidates reported a high turnout of voters across the region after voters went to the ballot boxes yesterday to select dozens of councillors to represent them over the next five years.
At DISC in Dundee, the count got under way just after 9am, with results expected within a few hours, while counts in Angus, Fife and Perth & Kinross also started around the same time.
There was an air of anticipation at DISC as election officials briefed staff who would be going through the votes ahead of the count.
Among the early arrivals at the sports complex was former Deputy Lord Provost Christina Roberts, who was on the count floor.
Few people were willing to make predictions about the result, with the SNP looking to hold on to its majority and stay in administration.
But Richard McCready, a Labour candidate for the West End ward, said he felt the turnout had been better than reported elsewhere.
He told the Tele: “I’m not sure what the turnout has been like nationally but here in Dundee I think the people have responded.
“I don’t really know how Labour is going to do in the city.
“We have fought a good campaign and have worked hard.
“Whether or not I’m returned to ~my seat, well I’ll just have to wait and see. It’s up to the electorate now.”
However, one member of the last SNP administration said he feared that the number of people coming out to vote had been lower than hoped.
Alan Ross, who is standing for election in the Lochee ward, told the Tele: “I’m not sure how big the turnout has been but it’s possible it has been low.”
He said he felt his party had done all it could to get people’s backing, adding: “We worked hard to get our supporters out and I hope we’ve done enough. We will just need to wait and see now.”
Georgia Cruickshank, Labour candidate for Maryfield, attended the count in a wheelchair after suffering a recent fall.
She said: “I got out yesterday in my wheelchair canvassing for support.
“At one point I even dumped it and got on my crutches.
“I don’t think I can predict how things are going to go.”
In Angus, some candidates also said they felt there had been a higher turnout across the county. Counting of the ballots got under way at 9.30am with the first results expected at about lunchtime.
There were no official figures on voter turnout but Ronnie Proctor, Conservative candidate for Kirriemuir and Dean, told the Tele: “I found the turnout higher than the previous election 2012.
“There’s favour for change in the ward and as far as we were concerned we found it quite positive.
“We left the polling station with